David Spiller

"Don’t be afraid to give your heart.  

Don’t be afraid to walk in the dark. 

Don’t be afraid to say yes.  

Don’t be afraid to say no. 

Don’t be afraid to have fun.  

Don’t be afraid to say I love you". 

 

David Spiller 1942 - 2018

Born in Dartford, Kent, David became engrossed in art and popular culture from a young age.  His older brothers would play him projections of Mickey Mouse cartoons and he would spend hours drawing the characters, as a way of keeping them close to him.   After studying Graphic Design at Sidcup Art School and painting at Beckenham School of Art, in 1962 he went on to the Slade School of Art, where he was taught by Frank Auerbach and William Coldstream and where he won the Henry Tonks Prize for Drawing.  Throughout his long career he enjoyed huge success with regular solo shows through Europe, the UK and America and his paintings are held in important private and public collections worldwide.  

As David became older, he felt an increasing urgency to keep his legacy alive, he understood the medium of printmaking was a great way to spread his 'magic' to a wider audience than a single painting might achieve. He loved that his prints could be shared with a greater audience and that his editions offered more accessibility to collectors and loved to give them as gifts to friends and family. David would always get a kick out of seeing one of his prints in a magazine or in a hotel or restaurant. Achieving his mission to leave his mark; "Maybe all we're doing is leaving our fingerprints... Leaving our mark."