My inspiration for all these paintings was born out of my experiences of growing up in the urban environment, a landscape so enthralling yet so unnatural and fearful. 

I see this city environment as oppressive and cold, I look at the natural world and see unequivocal beauty, I look at the landscape man has created for himself  in cities of concrete and barren of trees away from nature, divorced from mother earth, devoid of colour, full of fear and mistrust, so many people so few friends, the sky is now the only connection to the natural world we ever notice... until the day we conquer the weather. These paintings are my anxieties.

I first had a glimpse of Chris Swain’s work over ten years ago. A passionate articulate artist, Chris’s work has an honest sincerity to it that continues to challenge and affect me. Paintings exploring the artist’s  response to the world around him manifest themselves in forms of magical realism, absurdism and observations of the animal kingdom. It is refreshing to meet an artist who has not been swayed by the fickle fashions of the art world. The artist’s body of work is a collection that continues to inspire. We hope you enjoy the work of Chris Swain as much as we do, the inaugural artist of Freedom Studios online Gallery.