Naomi Diestro, legal secretary with De Cotta Law in Nerja is also a writer and recently wrote an article about local artist, David Kenning for Insight Magazine.
Here we republish the article. You can see a sample of David Kenning's work at De Cotta Law's offices – just contact Naomi on 952 527 014 for further information.
I was fortunate to meet local artist David Kenning and his wife Anna at a barbecue recently, and they kindly invited me to their quaint village town house to have a look at David’s artwork.
As I glance around at the dainty curtains, pretty decorations and heavenly balcony view, it is quickly apparent that they are lovers of beautiful things … and no television in sight! It seems that being creative, and enjoying the creative work of others, is how this Frigiliana couple best like to spend their time. And from the amount of paintings they have in their home, it is clear that both David and Anna live and breathe art. As Anna shows me around, she tells me that art is something her husband has always been good at: “Even as a child, he won all the art prizes at school”. I am taken upstairs to see a room filled with David’s charming prints (many of which have been translated into screenprints), and as I admire them all it occurs to me that, like me, there must be people who would love to see one of these paintings hanging on their wall, if only they knew about them! So here we are mentioning them, and David Kenning’s paintings are also being displayed in Nerja this month.
David Kenning has always expressed himself through art, with the exception of one brief period following a heart operation, when the yearning to paint had deserted him. But the intricate patterns on the rug next to his sick bed were intriguing him, and he reignited his passion when he finally picked up a paintbrush and took pleasure from the precision in painting it. His chosen career was working as a Graphic Designer and Art Director for several editorials, including Readers Digest and The Times newspaper, and then he went on to be a teacher of Graphic Design at Southend College of Art and Technology before taking early retirement and moving to Spain back in the 1980s.
Anna and David once completed a three month journey from Gloucester to Almuñécar, painting watercolours as they went. They were inspired by Laurie Lee’s classic book “As I walked out one summer morning”, which is a memoir of his epic journey on foot at the tender age of 19. They retraced and captured on canvas the places and sights Laurie Lee would have seen, and all these works were displayed at exhibitions in Madrid and London, with a selection being reproduced in calendar form. Laurie Lee is featured in David’s painting entitled “Descansando” (65 € for the screenprint).
David Kenning’s paintings are mostly watercolour landscapes of Spain, a country he loves and never wants to leave. His most widely recognised work is his striking posters of Frigiliana (Ingenio) and the Nerja church (Iglesia del Salvador), which are popular with both tourists and locals.
Samples of David Kenning’s work can be viewed at the De Cotta Law office in Calle Diputación number 11 in Nerja, and on line: www.nerjaland.com / www.picasso.mio.es.
Prices start at 18 € for the posters. Screenprints range from 20 € to 160 €, framed and unframed; original paintings negotiable. For more information contact 635 605 731/ email: [email protected]
De Cotta Law Nerja Office:
Calle Diputación 11
29780 Nerja
Tel.: +34 952 527 014
Fax: +34 952 523 428
Monday to Thursday – 9.30am – 5.30pm, no siesta
Friday 9.30pm – 2pm
E-mail: [email protected]