Macclesfield-based artist David Steeden, a member of High Peak Artists, has been announced as the winner of a recent competition to create the cover image for the 2025 Buxton Fringe programme, due in June.
This year’s contest was open to artist members of Peak District Artisans, High Peak Artists and The Green Man Gallery, resulting in a shortlist derived from all three groups.
Fringe Chair Ian Bowns says: “The committee was impressed by all the entries but particularly drawn to David’s artwork, which captures the joy of the performance and has a lovely feeling of spontaneity and celebration. It also worked spectacularly well with our Fringe banner, so it was the perfect choice for our cover image.”
David explains: “The aim of my artistic interpretation of Buxton Fringe was to capture the festive, lighthearted mood of the event by depicting some of the various performers in action. I entitled it ‘Joyful’. It was important that the colour, the fun and the joy were all depicted in this lively painting, which is a celebration of all that the Fringe stands for.”
As a member of High Peak Artists, David displays his local Peak District paintings in the Gallery at Buxton’s Pavilion Gardens. Since retiring, he has been able to cultivate his life-long interest in art. As an avid urban sketcher, he favours plein air sketching in pen and watercolour, which can be found out and about in his locality in all weathers.
He says: “My main focus in a sketch is achieving good composition and tonal contrast to make the end result stand out.” As well as keeping personal sketchbooks, David posts his work on Facebook and Instagram, using the latter as a means of cataloguing his recent work, which can be found at ‘davidsteedenart’.
The Fringe wishes to thank all those who entered the competition. Shortlisted entries, including works by joint second-place winners Andrea Joseph from High Peak Artists and Sarah Joseph from Peak District Artisans, can be seen on the Fringe website on a dedicated Gallery page.
