Alfie Caine

Alfie Caine paints rich, atmospheric scenes of nature and architecture. His home is his prime inspiration. The marshes, cliffs, valleys and rivers on the East Sussex coastline, plus the houses and cobbled streets of his hometown, Rye. In his art, Caine mixes these places with memories of others he has dreamed up. Reality and imagination blur. Each work begins as a series of sketches. This stage is very loose and experimental. When the design is complete, he draws it onto a larger board, sheet of paper or canvas. Then he applies a range of paints, including acrylic, oil and vinyl. But this is not a simple colour-in process. Instead, the drawing and the painting talk to each other. They change along the way – bringing in inspirations from Renaissance art, pop culture and furniture design.

Caine’s paintings are ordinary and surreal at the same time. On the one hand he draws from day-to-day life. There’s candles and fireplaces lit, chairs askew and open windows. His daily cycle to the studio also often features in his paintings. On the other hand, the artist sees his work as a way to get out of reality. This manifests in their dreaminess. The scenes look warm and inviting – but weirdly, no one’s there. They're quiet and still. Colours are vivid and uncanny. Consequently, the recognisable bits of his work become shrouded in mystery – left for the viewer to decide what happens next.