English artist and writer Patrick Woodroffe is self taught as an artist, having studied languages at the University of Leeds. He is noted for his illustrations for books and record album covers, basically in a fantasy vein, but with a unique approach and artistic roots in artists like Bosch and Bruegel as well as Surrealism and Magic Realism.
Since I wrote about him in 2007, Woodroffe has added to his site images of more recent projects that borrow some of the form of fold-out Renaissance altarpieces (which I’ve described before as the Gothic and Renaissance equivalent of hypermedia). In these, wooden panels, often intricately carved or painted on themselves, open to reveal triptych panels within.
In Woodroffe’s case, he has extended the idea of revealed images even further, with interior panel portions within images that apparently open or turn around to reveal additional image variations.
Unfortunately, his website doesn’t present these in a clear or consistent enough manner for me to be certain of how they are actually constructed, but they are fascinating nonetheless.
There are also paintings in other frames and settings, both conventional and unconventional.
His paintings have moved toward visionary art, with intricate, highly textural compositions that feel as though they carry symbolism as well as presenting landscapes of the fantastic. The images on his site are tantalizing, but frustratingly small given their level of detail.
There are also sections on his site for his “Tomographs” a phrase he coined separately before being aware of its use in medical imaging, meaning painted objects that are often photographed against the context of real scenes.
There is an additional section devoted to his earlier work, with even smaller images, but these are accompanied by detail crops that give you at least a glimpse of the nature of the full image.
There are also other sections on books, ideas and past projects that bear looking through, as well as a selection of works available for purchase.
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