"A Flower of the Mountain is an ongoing series of paintings taking its name from a quote from James Joyce’s Ulysses which has been a favourite book and source of ideas over decades......the series has an imaginary “flower” emerging from the side of a "rock" which could be Gibraltar or Ailsa Craig (my favourite childhood view) or the Hill of Howth in Dublin. Such inspiration becomes the anchor for a floral explosion of paint that illustrates no recognisable element but allows an improvised response to a passion for Joyce, painting, the vagaries of landscape, colour and time. Further improvisations in pencil, crayon and the uses of text serve to create a diary like picture of the elements surrounding each work, on the work itself."
Philip Maltman
Philip Maltman was born and brought up on the west coast of Scotland. He went to Hornsey College of Art in 1968 and then to Ravensbourne College of Art and Design graduating in 1971. Contact with Richard Demarco, Joseph Beuys, Alan Davie and Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) proved even more enlightening than Art School. He recently made Contact with Nicola Del Roscio, the late Cy Twombly's long time associate whose help and encouragement has been invaluable. His early experimental work with word and image led to interlinked passions for painting and books which continue to this day. He has been selected for The John Moore's Painting Prize, The RA Summer Exhibition four times, The Cheltenham Open Drawing Prize three times and was the winner of the London Group Open Major Award in 2009. His work is in collections in Europe and America.
