ONE of Britain?s most well known contemporary painters, who has shunned art galleries for almost a decade, has chosen a West Devon town for his return to the high street. Paintings by landscape artist and successful author Joe Francis Dowden will be going on sale at Elford Fine Art in Tavistock this weekend. The news has thrilled owners Philip and Rosemary Jones, who only opened their gallery in Drake Road five weeks ago. Although collected worldwide, the artist?s works have become increasingly difficult to find as, in recent years, they have been available only in rare, privately organised shows. Rosemary said: ?Joe Dowden took his work off the high street because he did not like the way galleries were going and could not paint what he wanted to paint. ?He has seen the West Devon area, adored the countryside and feels Tavistock is an exciting market place. He likes our attitude to art and the way we do things and decided to relaunch his high street business with us. ?It?s a real honour for us to be selling his work because he really is top notch with a national and international reputation.? Rosemary and Philip Jones opened Elford Fine Art after holding exhibitions in the Bedford Hotel for several years and building up a good clientele. They said Mr Dowden had a wonderful ability to reflect light off water in his paintings and among his favourite subjects were country lanes and riverbanks dappled with sunlight. The artist described Tavistock as a beautiful town with a go-ahead outlook: ?It has a high proportion of businesses selling unique products,? he said. ?Elford Fine Art has a peerless appreciation and understanding of fine art and artists and this was an important factor in changing my attitude to selling through a gallery. ?I have been seeking new areas to explore and paint and have fallen in a big way for the countryside around Tavistock. It is glorious and absolutely stunning ? just what I have been looking for as an artist.? He has recently been working around Sampford Spiney, Meavy and Burrator and the first in a series of Devon landscapes will go on show this weekend. Joe Dowden has exhibited at the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, the Royal Society of Marine Artists and the Singer Freidlander/Sunday Times competition. In addition to his international recognition as a painter, he has produced highly successful tutorial books and DVDs and gained a huge following in Europe, USA, Australia, New Zealand and the Far East.
