Born in Oldham, Lancashire in 1966, David Miller now lives and works in the heart of the West Wales countryside, in a wooded valley near the Taf and Towy estuaries with the dramatic Pembrokeshire coastline on his doorstep.
He paints mostly British wildlife, usually in oils, preferring to return again and again to subjects he knows well, travelling widely to gather reference and inspiration for his work.
David is perhaps best known for his underwater studies of game and coarse fish, inspired by a lifetime passion for angling and by many hours spent snorkeling and diving in rivers, lakes and gravel pits. This knowledge and understanding of his subject is clearly reflected in his work and has led to him becoming perhaps the best known and well-regarded fish artist in the country. Internationally, his larger fish paintings now hang in London, Tokyo and New York boardrooms.
His originals have been exhibited at the McEwan Gallery, Ballater, the Wykeham Gallery, Stockbridge, the Waterford Gallery, Hale, the Millyard Gallery, Saddleworth, The Sporting Gallery, Tetbury, the Tryon Gallery and at the Society of Wildlife Artists Annual Exhibition at the Mall, London.
He has had work published by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Hamlyn Publishers, Waterlog Magazine, Irish Country Sports & Country Life, The Field, Wild Ireland, International Masters Publishers and the Medici Society.
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In this painting I wanted to suggest an atmosphere of lurking menace, of the legendary leviathan that emerges in anglers tales wherever pike exist. My plan was to lull the viewer into thinking that the fish on the right was at the apex of this particular food chain, with the third fish coming as a shock when it is finally noticed. The painting was in the studio a long time as I kept playing with the level of contrast in the background fish, glazing her back, ‘finding’ her again, and so on, all the while asking my wife Lisa, our friends, fellow artists, indeed, anyone who visited the studio for their opinion. I think I eventually drove Lisa mad with my fussing about whether or not I had pitched things just right with the hidden monster as she finally said something along the lines of “For goodness sake, the painting’s fine. Sign it, get it framed and leave it alone!”
As ever, I took her advice, and it was then shown at the Pike Angler’s Club conference in 2005 where I was amazed by peoples reaction. I had expected the hidden fish to fool one or two viewers but in reality it was only one or two who actually noticed her without being told she was there. This delighted me and it reinforced my feelings about this being one of the most successful paintings I have produced so far. |