DAN WOODS MEMORIAL EXHIBITION

There will be an exhibition of painting by famous Brighton artist Dan Woods who died on 7th January this year on the weekends from May 4th to 26th at ‘The Church of the Good Shepherd’, Dyke Rd, Brighton BN1 5AE. It is part of the Artists Open Houses for the May festival in Brighton. Dan Woods exhibited there over the last couple of years and had full intended to display his work this year as well so his family and friends felt it was the right thing to do that on his behalf. His closest friend in Brighton, Mel Owens, is mainly looking after the arrangements. More info about the exhibition of Dan Woods paintings and other artwork can be found here. The section of Dan Woods art prints at Artists UK can be found here.

Dan Woods 1957 – 2019 Goodbye old friend :-(

The celebrated Brighton artist and musician Dan Woods died peacefully in the early hours of the morning on 7th January 2019 after a couple of bad years with terminal cancer. He was stoic, cheerful and positive even during our last conversation not long before he died.  His bravery in the face of this horrific terminal illness and the hellish pain and disability he suffered was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

He is sorely missed by family, friends and fans of his art and music over the many years he has been creating artwork and music. As the Fish Brothers guitarist for many years (often under the name of Chesty Charnsworth) he is especially missed by fans who remember his blazing technical solos worthy of Ollie Halsall or Allan Holdsworth while at the same time the band, who were all very competent musicians as well, proclaimed themselves to be “totally crap”.

I met Dan at school when we were eleven years old and only one person outside his family has known him longer than that. Howard has known him since they were eight years old at junior school where Howard claims he regularly beat him up … in the face of overwhelming evidence that this never even happened once.

What is known by very few people is that Artists UK would not have existed if it had not been for Dan. An odd coincidence had me out of work in 1994 just when Dan had published some prints that he was having some trouble marketing and selling. He was an artist through and through and selling himself or his work was, as it is to many creative people, a rather distasteful and almost dirty occupation, far away from the sublime inspiration of art and music. Being at the time plunged in that dirt and mire and unable to find a convenient spitirtual shower I said I’d have a go at selling them. This I did and then branched out adding in other artists and merchandise to end up with the massive portfolio of over 2,000 products today. But Dan’s section has been there all the time during these 25 years for fans of his art to collect his great art prints and we will continue to keep his section live as long as we still have stocks of his prints.

Personally, I owe more to Dan than just Artist UK though.  For my 13th birthday he gave me a book that changed my life.  It was ‘Day of the Triffids’ by John Wyndham and that really kick-started my love-affair with science fiction that arose naturally after buying the comic FANTASTIC! around the time we met.  That comic contained reprints of American Marvel comics although we didn’t know that at the time.  Dan and I both developed a fascination for fantasy and science-fiction as well as for all sorts of music and spiritual practices like meditation and yoga.  We took different directions in life but in many ways it was the same inspiration that he expressed to me in our teens that saw him through one of the worst kinds of illness that anyone could suffer with such positivity, dignity and maturity.

The first band (Dan on left)

What is Mr Woods up to nowadays then?

Dan Woods was the first artist that Artists UK promoted and he’s still going strong although some things have changed. His mainstream was book illustration and album cover work for the likes of Captain Sensible and the Fish Brothers but nowadays he’s taking things a bit easier and returning to his roots with some bright and refreshing landscape artwork in his local Brighton area. His paintings are peaceful yet bright and evocative of warm breezy days. Here are a few of the latest paintings he has painted.

 

A few agents have already taken up rights on some of his work and others are selling at exhibitions around the south of England but if you are interested in owning one of his orginal paintings then let us know. The prices are very reasonable for the quality of the work and the size so they could also be a good investment.

If you are not familiar with Dan Woods or his art then you can have a look at some of his better-known work here.

Dan Woods in new company

Artist Dan Woods is well-known for the many books he has illustrated along with album covers and film projects etc. He is also a very accomplished musician who has toured with great names such as Captain Sensible, Attila the Stockbroker and The Fish Brothers. He also once famously fronted a band on a major tour of Germany when their front-man was taken ill at the last minute! Now he is part of the growing enterprise called Renegade Arts Entertainment of which he is both a founder member and shareholder. Funded by a well-known entrepreneur with excellent connections in media and marketing in Europe, Canada and the USA Renegade Arts Entertainment looks ready to take on the world! In its first months of life it has already seen the completion of a number of successful projects including film work for the legendary heavy rock band Judas Priest. The team at Renegade Arts Entertainment are all inspired and motivated to make their mark. A high level of commitment is the company’s driving force. The company is not so much interested in taking on standard business contracts as generating exciting and original ideas that it can market around the globe. You can get an insight into the wonderful world of Renegade Arts Entertainment by visiting their new website here. For more on the art of Dan Woods click here.