Marc Yeats
Marc Yeats is both a painter and a composer, deeply interconnected in these fields. His compositions influence new approaches to painting, just as his painting techniques inspire his musical creations. A self-taught artist in both disciplines, Yeats explores the representation of surfaces in sound, colour, form, and texture. His work draws from a fascination with geological processes like layering and erosion, and he is captivated by landscapes and the resonances unique to specific places. This ongoing investigation into how these elements manifest across his creative mediums has become a lifelong passion and challenge for Yeats. While no one artist heavily influenced him, Yeats admires a wide range of practitioners, from Van Gogh, Turner, Constable, and Eardley to Pollock, Richter, and Bacon. He works primarily in oils, acrylics, and mixed media on paper and board. Based in Somerset, England, and with a studio at Crepe Farm, Symondsbury by Bridport, Yeats finds inspiration in the land and seascapes of Suffolk, Norfolk, Dorset, and the chalk downlands of southern England. Although drawn to abstraction, Yeats gravitates towards landscape to express the interplay of light, shadow, sky, land, vegetation, and weather. However, he does not aim to mimic nature or create an illusion of reality, a pursuit he abandoned in his twenties. Yeats neither paints from life nor photographs. Instead, he sketches and spends extensive time in the locations that inspire him. His work is not about translating these experiences into direct depictions but capturing the impressions and memories of the places he loves. For Yeats, a location’s essence—structures, changing dynamics, and atmosphere—emerges more vividly when processed through memory and perception over time. This process is expressed through bold, colourful, gestural mark-making characterising his painting. Yeats does not begin with a specific subject in mind. Instead, his work emerges through the physical act of painting, often starting with spontaneous gestures using oil or acrylic paints, crayons, markers, and pencils. Despite this spontaneity, the familiarity he has developed through years of experience likely means these actions, while appearing freeform, are highly practised responses to his environment. To counterbalance this familiarity, Yeats often introduces kinetic force or movement elements into his painting process, sometimes even closing his eyes to relinquish control over the outcome. Layer upon layer is added until something recognisable—a light effect, a landscape form, or a familiar atmosphere—begins to take shape. At this point, he focuses on developing the image, refining it until it resonates with his memories or sensations of the real world. In addition to his visual work, Yeats is a highly regarded contemporary composer. His music has been performed by prestigious ensembles such as the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Hallé Orchestra, with broadcasts on BBC Radio 3. Yeats is also a published writer, with books from Vision Edition discussing his artistic practice and music composition. His most recent literary endeavour is a collection of over 230 poems that explore his life as an artist and his relationship to painting and composition. Please use the contact page on my website link for further information or to make an appointment to visit the studio.
- Website: marc-yeats.com/paintings/