About Goff
Goff was born in 1949 in the small South Wales town of Brynmawr, where his artistic interests were first noticed and encouraged by his very supportive art teacher, Ken Jones, at the local grammar school. On leaving school, Goff trained at the West of England college of Art, Bristol, Cardiff College of Art and Cardiff University. He then taught at St Illtyd’s College, Cardiff until moving into the management of adult education for a number of local authorities in South East Wales. This became his full time occupation for many years.
However, since then he has acquired a confidence in his own understanding of art to paint for his own purpose, in his own way. Fortunately, this has proven to be very successful and enabled him to explore a completely new career as a full time professional artist. He has high regard for a great deal of Welsh art and it's origins.
Most of his artwork has personal recollections and experiences as their foundation. They are ‘generalised’ in a way which makes their appeal extremely wide ranging. “I often find myself linking past events with the development of my paintings and using familiar imagery to reinforce the connection”
The area in which he has lived and worked, has provided a constant source of inspiration. Goff works from a studio in his native town of Brynmawr and continues to appreciate the direct links with his ‘origins’ which provide the stimulation for the majority of his paintings. These combine elements of the everyday landscape with complex emotional values, giving his work a unique quality, which is enhanced by his particular style of painting on heavily textured canvas.
His expressive forms are distinctive, yet allow a degree of personal interpretation. The atmospheric qualities he creates often serve to stimulate the imagination and memory of others. Goff’s paintings tend to reflect the mood or atmosphere of events and locations, rather than being a purely pictorial representation. They are about his thoughts and memories, illustrated with references to the places he knows so well. Family life is very important and he makes every effort to spend as much time with his wife and children as possible.
In order to truly appreciate his work and understand the reasoning behind the development of the artwork, awareness of the story involved is essential. Like Dylan Thomas, when the stories are told at length they are very humorous and reflect life in Wales at that time. Many of the titles of the canvas paintings are names used to describe people or buildings used in Goff's youth. His friends from home and abroad talk about their childhood and this can the the inspiration for another painting.
This is explained by the gallery and/or can be provided with the painting/print where appropriate. Goff's family support is very important to him as one or other of them often get roped in to be a model or to provide an important view on his latest painting.
A prolific Welsh artist, Goff’s original art is in great demand and his work is established as being amongst the most sought after in the contemporary art market in Wales. In fact the only originals for sale are his latest paintings, as all others are sold out. Fine art prints (giclee) in paper and canvas are available of all paintings in strictly limited editions. New paintings are eagerly anticipated by an avid group of collectors and enthusiasts, regularly being sold, often in advance of being painted.
His work is included in international corporate and private collections. The arrival of a new painting is often the cause for great excitement amongst his many collectors. Many are purchased as an investment and some collectors are now reselling their paintings for at least ten times what they paid some years ago, demonstrating the increase in value of Goff's art work.
Due to the fact that his originals sell so rapidly, he has now launched a standardised range of limited edition prints (Showman Fine Art). These will make his work accessible to more people and at affordable prices.
An additional range of his paintings has also been selected by leading fine art publisher Senecio Editions of Oxford, who supply hand-embellished, limited edition prints to the fine art trade. Their portfolio includes fifteen, prominent British artists and Goff's work is published as the special edition ‘Goff Collection’.
Goff in Today's Art Market
His individual style and the quality of his work has led to great demand at home and abroad. In fact, Goff's work is now established as being amongst the most sought after in the contemporary art market in Wales. Due to this popularity, his work has steadily risen in value. New paintings are eagerly anticipated by an avid group of collectors and enthusiasts, regularly being sold out at substantial prices.
Many now regard these originals as sound investment opportunities for the future and are building up significant collections. Some of these art collections have recently been sold and the significant value of the artwork has encouraged more people to become serious collectors of the acrylic on textured canvas paintings.
To ensure access to his originals, even his selected galleries need to book well in advance. Due to the exclusive nature of his work, only one or two paintings can be available for exhibition at any given time. The majority of his artworks sell into private/corporate collections and the export market.''