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We get all arty at Tate St Ives, the setting for our winter photoshoot, and introduce you to Trevor Bell, one of our favourite exhibiting artists.

Tate St Ives opened in 1993 and occupies a spectacular site overlooking Porthmeor beach. A former gas works, the venue was transformed to host exhibitions of regional and international prominence. Celebrating their 3 millionth visitor this July, numbers have increased more than threefold - from 70,000 to 241,000 - over the past five years. Exhibiting here is a real coup for many renowned names.

Trevor Bell is one such artist. Arriving in St Ives in the 1950's he was part of a new generation of artists; attracted to the town by the Hepwoth, Lanyon, Hilton heyday. Bridging the gap between the old St Ives School and the young contemporary Cornish art scene, his paintings are a heady mix of energy and colour developed over a career that spans two continents and more than five decades.

Trevor Bell in his studio infront of 'Five Bar'

He spent the early part of his career on the move, living in Leeds then Canada before finally settling in Florida in the 1970's. He stayed for twenty years, establishing his name as an artist and influential Professor for Master (Graduate) Painting at the Florida State University. His large-scale, dramatically shaped canvases and intense colour work attracted critical acclaim and led to a series of prominent exhibitions.

When in the 1990's he made the decision to move back to Cornwall, it would be a wrench from the place he called home and the country that knew his name. In the UK he would be pretty much starting again but the lure of Cornish clifftops and Atlantic waves proved the stronger pull.

Trevor says: "It's a question of being willing or able to take it on again. Coming back I had to start again, after all - it's not as though I was a spring chicken. Many people who knew me from the early days weren't around or had passed away and it was difficult to make the connection in London because you are up against an ageist attitude."

His work is a brilliant and beautiful celebration of paint, colour and the landscape around him - and we love it.

Chloe Wild

Top photo © Tate St. Ives
All other photos by Steve Tanner

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