Theo Crutchley-Mack
Theo Crutchley-Mack was born in Bristol in 1994 and has lived in various parts of the UK including West Yorkshire, West Wales and South Cornwall. At the age of 16 he became the first teenager to design a 50 pence coin for the Royal Mint which was later released into circulation throughout the United Kingdom. This sparked a specific interest in drawing which has driven his visual journey through to the current day. Theo went on to pursue this interest and studied BA (Hons) Drawing at Falmouth University in Cornwall. The University's location allowed him to develop his interest in maritime life and link it closely to his practice.
Having lived and studied on the coast Theo has become fascinated by the detrimental affects of nature on manmade structures, and is drawn to the fragmented histories of abandoned vessels and wrecks. Theo connects with these places by spending many hours drawing and painting on location. These drawings then feed more sustained works created in the studio at a later date. These larger works often develop over long periods of time with a slow process of layering and tearing, followed by more layering. Often paintings are put aside for months at a time, before they are discarded or eventually revisited and completed.
"This process helps separate myself from a painting which I have become
too obsessive over and often leads to seeing it in a new way"
These ruins have a profound effect on the atmosphere of a landscape and it is this which Theo always attempts to capture in his work.
Theo was recently selected to be the Young Welsh Artist of the Year, and his work was selected to win the Tresco prize for drawing which included a 1 month studio residency in the Isles of Scilly. He is now represented by three major galleries in the UK:
The Late November Gallery (Pembrokeshire)
Gallery Tresco (Isles of Scilly)
The Drang (Devon)
More information, including a behind the scenes style blog can be found on his Facebook page and website: