Les Darlow

I was born in 1961: the decade of space exploration. Like many a young boy at that time, my dream was to climb into NASA spacesuit, wave to the TV cameras and captain a rocket to the moon. It wasn’t to be. I soon found a different world to explore; the world of art.

My love for art began early on in secondary school as I began to explore painting and drawing photo-realistically. My art teacher at school was the best. He was so enthusiastic and passionate about art. I cancelled the order for the astronaut helmet and held my A ’level art certificate aloft with pride. Moon rock? Forget it.

College came next and I continued to pursue my quest for photo-realism, in addition to taking a Technical and Scientific Illustration course at my local college. But nothing’s ever straightforward, is it? Thank goodness for that. I joined a rock band and toured the UK and Europe playing keyboards and piano, much to my parents dismay. Rock music was an education to say the least, but giving the likes of Bon Jovi a run for their money would have to fall to another band. We were good, but not that good. I unplugged the amps and unpacked the paints.

I hand painted maps in watercolour, I drew historical buildings in pen and ink. I threw myself into anything that was to do with art. Thankfully, I realised I could make some money doing something I loved. It was the early nineties when my children were very young that I started a business in graphic design and fine art and secured a drawing contract for a publishing company. The bills got paid. I was creative. I was a very happy former wannabe astronaut.


I have a passion for painting landscapes and paint using most mediums, although I particularly enjoy working with pastels as they seem to suit my impressionistic and free style. I like to paint very quickly and try to capture the mood and light in my paintings and not worry about detail: I believe the viewer can then read into the painting and see what they want to see.

Take me away from the canvas and you’ll find me in adrenalin junkie mode. Mountain climbing, Abseiling, mountain biking and snowboarding. And if there’s a storm brewing then just watch me, I’m like a small child on Christmas morning. When I get the chance, I join a friend of mine who is a pilot and soar through the northwestern England skies and fill up the memory card on my camera with images of stunning cloud formations and sunsets. Forget sitting on the sofa with a good book. I want to be out there seeing nature at its most fierce and most spectacular. All this beauty surrounding our little planet. Why did I ever want to leave for that barren rock?

If you would like to chat about any painting you have seen, or just find out a little more information about myself as an artist please call 01253 397891 or 07900 576 840 anytime.