Local Life - Wigan - December 2020

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David’s portfolio of work and his representation of
Northern Soul culture has won him world-wide acclaim,
especially his painting of the Wigan Casino. As a teenager
he was a fanatical regular at Wigan Casino, after being
introduced to the music by his older brother and hearing
it around the home. David was known to frequent soul
nights at Blackpool Mecca, the Ritz in Manchester and
even an all-nighter in Burscough.
The Northern Soul genre led to a new direction for David
and he has never looked back, all the pictures in the
exhibition sold and they have become extremely popular.
So popular in fact that they have been collected by
enthusiasts from around the world. Examples of David’s
work are now owned by recognisable names such as, Paul
Weller, Ocean Colour Scene, and institutions such as the
world-famous Tamla Motown Museum in Detroit.
In recent years David explains that he has developed a
different style of working from his traditional oil paintings
and atmospheric club scenes. In his most recent series
of paintings, David brings to life Wigan walking days. He
adds, “My favourite style to paint in is the ‘naive’ style, as I
like to experiment with textures and repetition of shapes
and figures. I like to produce paintings of places that are
personal to me, particularly when I was growing up. The
‘naïve’ style allows lots of excuses for me to show times
and places from my life, with an added touch of fun.”
In addition to his Walking Day series, David is developing
other works based around some familiar local places
including Wigan Baths, Wigan Pier, and the market.
The recent and most current lockdowns have been a
period of planning and research for David and he has
capitalised on this time. David continued, “I have been
producing and planning different collections as a
story board featuring more places and memories
from both Wigan and Parbold. I am in the process of
creating a book featuring paintings that celebrate the
traditional walking days in Wigan.”
He added, “I am working in collaboration with a
writer, together we are combining Wigan speak or
‘Wiganese’ as poems to describe the walking day
marches. This project is going to be produced as an
illustrated book, it will feature different collections,
such as my walks from Parbold village, walking days,