Award Winning Artist Showing at Beside The Wave.

"Light and Shade," Myles Oxenford's first solo show at Beside The Wave, is a collection of new work which is inspired by his home county of Cornwall. The show explores the artistic themes of light, reflection and shadow through both landscape and still life, but focusing on the immediate environment in which Myles finds himself.

A seasoned explorer, Myles will habitually derive inspiration from his travels, returning often to paint in the Welsh Valleys, Scotland and the Swiss Alps. This Cornwall collection, as a result, is a wonderful opportunity to appreciate the county through the eyes of one of its foremost landscape painters.

Myles' fascination with the subtle nuances of light is very evident in 'Last Light Towards Penryn', as the last glimmer of the sun's rays hang over the town nestled in the river valley. Patches of pink and lilac left by the setting sun are reflected into the landscape, transforming the commercial harbour into a delicately serene and beautiful scene.

This atmospheric rendering successfully distils the complex shapes of buildings, boats and foliage down to their basic elements and forms, just as the low sun does when it casts it long shadows and glow over the landscape. In 'Falmouth from the Penryn River' this treatment is once again applied, but texture is added as Myles explores the pattern and reflection of the town's lights dancing on the dappled water of the harbour.

For these landscapes Myles begins the paintings on location, working quickly in oil paint, recording spontaneously the essential elements that are the essence of his composition. Careful not to overwork each piece and thereby preserve the freshness and immediacy of the mark making made in response to the atmosphere he is so keen to capture, he maintains this approach back in his studio which overlooks Falmouth bay.

Alongside these land and seascapes Myles has also created a collection of still life images. His mastery of this medium is demonstrated in a beautifully observed study of two Triandus daffodil stems in a simple glass of water. Using a subtle, pared down palette the close tonal range gives a great sense of harmony and peace to the composition. The glass itself is beautifully modelled as once again Myles explores how light dances round and through objects. Delicately painted soft blue shadows contrast with thicker paint and a freer rendering of the joyful flowers, leading to a variation of surface that drawers the viewer in to explore his subject further.

This year, 2010, marks the first decade of Myles Oxenford's professional career as an artist. His vocation to paint was with him from his earliest childhood, reinforced by inspirational visits to the studio of a Mexican mural artist in his teens.

Exceptionally, Myles Oxenford's professional career took off immediately on graduation; he received invitations to contribute to significant mixed shows within a year of his graduation in 2000. By 2003, Myles had been offered a prestigious solo show at the Royal Cornwall Museum and had work selected for the Discerning Eye Competition at the Mall Galleries; just three years later, he was offered his first solo shows in London and Cornwall, a pattern which has continued ever since. In 2009, Myles won a prize at the Discerning Eye Competition and was offered his first solo show at Beside The Wave, who first showed his work in 2004.

Myles lives and works in a studio in Cornwall where he is inspired everyday by painting outdoors. When exploring the landscape and waterscapes of his surrounding environment. Myles becomes inspired by the changing light, weather and seasons and aims to capture an essence of the place he has experienced. Principally painting in oil Myles, is constantly developing his techniques and the relationship between paint, mark making and subject. His unquestionable need to paint, talent and sense of vocation combine to make Myles one of the outstanding contemporary landscape artists of the day, and his career is certainly one to follow as he embarks on his second career decade.

To receive a catalogue of paintings or more information about the exhibition please contact Beside the Wave gallery@beside-the-wave.co.uk or (01326) 211132. Catalogue paintings will be available to view on the gallery website www.beside-the-wave.co.uk a week prior to the exhibition, with the full collection of work available to view on the gallery website from 3rd September.