Epiphany Art
J. R. Bateson
J. R. Bateson is a Brixton-based painter and linocut printmaker whose urban practice finds the sacred in the heart of the city.
Mediums: Oils · Gouache · Chalk pastel · Linocut printmaking
Themes: Urban life · Sacred Heart · Angels · Ignatian spirituality
Location: London, UK
Available for all types of commissions
About J. R. Bateson
J. R. Bateson grew up in a household shaped by art: both his mother and grandmother were painters, and it was from them that he first learned to draw and paint. After completing a degree in drama at Manchester University, he returned to London and felt the pull of making art again — enrolling in drawing and printmaking courses at Morley College in Waterloo.
Around this time, he became a Catholic. Brixton, where he's long been based, is a constant source of inspiration: its market, its streets and its diverse community all find their way into his oils, gouache paintings and linocut prints.
J. R. Bateson is also the editor of the Epiphany Art magazine, which he produces with Margaret Bateson — bringing the same attentiveness to language and image that characterises his visual art.
In their own words
"Painting and making art are in my blood. Both my mother and my grandmother were artists, and it was from them that I received my first lessons. After doing a degree in drama and returning to London, I felt the call to return to making art again and enrolled on various drawing and printmaking courses.
"The words of St Ignatius Loyola have always been important to me: "Whatever you are doing that makes you feel most alive, that is where God is."
"I regard myself as an urban artist. Living as I do in the heart of the city, I am drawn to the people and places around me — but there is also an underlying spiritual theme that informs much of my work."
Faith and the creative act
Art and faith go hand in hand for J. R. Bateson — The discipline of the studio, he says, brings moments of freedom in which he feels part of something larger than himself.
Selected works
