Stephen
Darbishire
Stephen Darbishire was born and raised on a farm in the Cumbrian Lake District where he enjoyed an adventurous childhood exploring the wild surroundings.
At eighteen he gained a scholarship to Byam Shaw School of Art where he studied under Peter Greenham and Peter John Garrard. After completing his training, he came home to the Lake District, and this was a turning point in his life.
Stephen decided to become a lay teacher and spent one year in Eastern Nigeria just prior to the Biafran war. In 1962, he opened his first studio and art gallery near Coniston and during this time he met Kerry. In his mid 20’s the bright lights called, and he headed for London to sing in folk clubs and later formed The Yum Yum Band, which went on to become The Honeybus. In 1967 he returned to the Lakes where he and Kerry were married. Settling down, he took a degree in education and became a schoolteacher.
They fell in love with an old farmhouse in the Cumbrian fells where they created a small holding and raised their two daughters, Rebecca and Naomi. Stephen taught in the nearby Grayrigg village school until finally becoming a full-time artist. The love of his surroundings comes to life through his paintings: interiors of cottages and his farmhouse – sunlight pouring in through windows, fires burning in open hearths, tables laid for afternoon tea, vases of flowers from hedgerows and their garden.
His paintings continue to capture the beauty of the ever-changing seasons of Cumbria, they a diary of his life.
Stephen has exhibited at the Royal Academy, The Richard Hagen Gallery, Broadway, Worcs., The Marylebone Gallery, London, Beckstones Art Gallery, Nr Penrith. He is a member of the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA) and The Lake Artists Society.
