Shaun Friend

Living on the edge of the Peak District in the UK and surrounded by hills, woods and open moorland, Craww’s work reflects an ongoing fascination with the natural world, and the relationships we have with it.

His work creates narratives that are drawn from the beauty to be found in contradictions and ambiguity - life and death, beauty and decay, strength, fragility, the interplay between conflicting and complementing forces of nature and the constructs that mark our passing.

Each piece is an aspect of an unfolding story that writes itself as he works on it. As his muses pass through time and place they are accompanied in their journey by birds and animals. Often framed by classical and historical reference points and surrounded by flowing lines and natural forms, his work uncovers their ambiguous connections and hidden narratives, exploring how the passage of time shapes the relationship between ourselves and nature.

Exploring ideas in graphite and charcoal, discovery is a large part of his work. Ideas and themes developing over time, often as a “stream of consciousness” rather than clearly defined concepts and objectives. In working through his ideas he relies heavily on his sketchbook where sketches and scribbles take on a life of their own before finding life on the canvas.