Bath artist features Buckingham Palace crowds in new exhibition

Buckingham Palace, the day after the Queen's death

Paintings of mourners outside Buckingham Palace will feature in artist Peter Brown's new exhibition.

Opening on 22 October at Bath's Victoria Art Gallery, Bath, Bristol and Beyond will feature over 100 new oil paintings.

Nicknamed "Pete the Street", Mr Brown is well known for capturing everyday life on the streets.

He painted the atmosphere in London following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

Mr Brown said he felt "obliged" to record the crowds outside Buckingham Palace.

Previously he has captured atmospheric views in all weathers, even during snowstorms. He works outside wearing fingerless mittens.

Most of the works in his new exhibition were painted during the Covid-19 pandemic, showing the impact of restrictions on the places where Mr Brown set up his easel.

Peter Brown painted BBC Broadcasting House on Whiteladies Road in celebration of 100 years of the BBC

Mr Brown spent around 6 hours painting the crowds outside Buckingham Palace, capturing thousands of mourners as they passed by to pay their respects.

"I was intrigued to see how the public were reacting to the Queen's death," he said.

In his 30 years of painting Mr Brown has grown accustom to painting street life quickly.

"The good thing about working quickly is you're not doing things so deliberately," he said.

The queue with David Beckham, Lambeth Green

Mr Brown believes painting is a medium that is still alive today, saying it "has a different place to that of pointing to an iPhone and taking snaps.

"You invest a lot more time and a lot more emotion into trying to portray this thing on canvas."