Hi, I’m Steve Deacon a.k.a The Cornish Eclectic.
I create Outsider/Low Brow Art from my house in Tywardreath, Cornwall.
My Approach
In a landscape often defined by the serene horizons and predictable tides of traditional Cornish maritime art, my work looks inward rather than out to sea. Based in Cornwall, I steer away from the typical seascapes to explore a more turbulent, 'low-brow' internal geography.
My practice is rooted in the concept of pareidolia—the human instinct to find familiar patterns in random shapes. Each piece begins with a total surrender of control: I flood the canvas with water and drop ink into the pool, watching it bloom into unpredictable, organic forms.
Once dry, the 'hunt' begins. I study the stains to uncover the silhouettes of the dream creatures within, using paint or pen to pull them out of the shadows. In a world of curated seascapes, I prefer to dive into the ink to see what’s actually lurking beneath the surface.
These 'dream creatures' are then brought to life through detailed illustration, resulting in a sprawling taxonomy of vivid, anxious, and absurd entities.
