Keith Dunkley was born in Hexham, Northumberland in 1942 and studied at the Royal Academy Schools from 1965-67.
The attraction and impact of his work results just as much from his concern with mood and atmosphere as from his immensely sensitive paint handling and skilful use of colour and light. An essential part of painting, he believes, is the need to interpret a mood and express feelings. Indeed, the inspiration for his paintings is usually a mood rather than a specific place.
Painting in acrylics, his main type of subject matter is what he calls "domestic landscapes". These are paintings of gardens, terraces and similarly confined and intimate spaces where, he says, "You might expect to come across people: places where they go to meet in a very private, perhaps secret way."
His travels have taken him to France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Holland. He never sets out with any preconceived ideas and expectations as to what he will be sketching and photographing, but invariably his paintings contain the suggestion of human activity rather than any actual figures. There is always evidence that something has happened or is about to happen, though it is left to the viewer's imagination to decide exactly what this might be. Usually these are paintings of emotional contrast. While on the surface they are tranquil, inviting landscapes, there is an equally strong undercurrent of mystery and intrigue.