{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{more footnotes needed|date=October 2016}} {{Short description|British painter (born 1955)}} '''David Tress''' (born 1955, London)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.davidtress.co.uk/pages/biography.html |title=Biography |publisher=Davidtress.co.uk |access-date=1 December 2025 }}</ref> is a British painter noted particularly for his deeply personal interpretations of landscapes in and around his home in Pembrokeshire, southwest Wales. He combines the techniques of collage and impasto with conventional painting and drawing to produce results that have been categorized as a form of abstract expressionism.
==Early life== Tress was born in Wembley, northwest London, and studied at Harrow College of Art before graduating in Fine Arts from Trent Polytechnic, Nottingham (now Nottingham Trent University). In 1976 he moved to Pembrokeshire where he has lived ever since.<ref name=spec2013>Andrew Lambirth (21 September 2013) [http://www.spectator.co.uk/2013/09/david-tress-an-artist-of-independent-spirit/ "David Tress: an artist of independent spirit"], ''The Spectator''. Retrieved 5 October 2016.</ref>
==Work and technique== Tress has followed an unorthodox route to painting.<ref name=wonline2013>[http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/artist-david-tress-reveals-joy-2504477 "Artist David Tress reveals the joy for his natural surroundings"], ''Wales Online'', 2 April 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2016.</ref> He was first interested by painter Ben Nicholson, and also the watercolours of John Singer Sargent. He then came across the Abstract Expressionists which continue to be an influence. By the time he moved to Wales Tress was making film, installation and performance art.<ref name=spec2013 /> In Pembrokeshire, Tress began painting local scenes in water-colour and other media, developing a highly detailed realism epitomized by works such as Winter Sun (1983) and First Sun, Preseli (1984).{{CN|date=September 2023}} As well as Wales, his subjects include landscapes in Scotland, the Lake District, Ireland and southern France, along with cityscapes of London.
==Honours== He was one of 48 British artists and designers commissioned by the Royal Mail for the Millennium stamp series. His [http://www.collectgbstamps.co.uk/displayset.asp?setid=244 design], issued in September 1999 as part of a set called The Farmers’ Tale, depicted open-field farming at Laxton near Newark, Nottinghamshire. It was also Royal Mail’s contribution to that year’s Europa postage stamp issue on the theme of Parks and Reserves.
He was the recipient of the 2013 Glyndŵr Award for an Outstanding Contribution to the Arts in Wales.
==References== * {{cite book |last= Rendell |first= Clare |title= David Tress |year= 2002 |publisher= Gomer Press |isbn= 978-1-84323-080-9 }} * {{cite book |last= Lambirth |first= Andrew |title= David Tress |year= 2015 |publisher=Studio Publications |isbn= 978-1-90848-678-3}}
==Footnotes== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.davidtress.co.uk/index.html David Tress website] * [http://www.messums.com/artists/view/940/David_Tress David Tress page at Messum's]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tress, David}} Category:Welsh artists Category:1955 births Category:Living people Category:Alumni of Nottingham Trent University Category:People from Wembley Category:Artists from the London Borough of Brent