To view image click on "Access Content Now" above The dense and juicy colours in this linocut print by Peter Daglish, a lively yellow, orange, red, pink and green create a harmonious mix that unites his abstract composition of soft and fruity shapes, lines and numbers. The title, “Keen and Peachy” is a reference to the expression “peachy keen” which means “super”. Often combining bold colour, text and funky graphics, Peter Daglish was influenced by Maxwell Bates, an Abstract Expressionist painter known for his sharp sense of satire and graphic, almost illustrative paintings. Daglish’s approach to printmaking was also influenced by his studies in Montréal with the innovative artist, Albert Dumouchel. One of Daglish’s memorable print works was created in 1970 while teaching at the University of Victoria. “My ABC Colouring Book” combines visual poetry and alphabet art in ten sets of lithographic prints. Each panel illuminates two or three letters of the alphabet with text, and visual motifs ranging from sailboats and bare-breasted women to palm trees and parrots. The art collector Herb Donaldson purchased one set and commissioned a series of other artists to hand-colour the pages. This edition is now an important art-historical document of the vibrant experimental art scene in that existed in Vancouver during the early 1970s. Painter and printmaker, Peter Daglish (1930- ) was born in Gillingham, in the Kent region of England, into a family of coppersmiths working in the shipyards. At the age of 25, Daglish emigrated to Canada. Working in a hotel in Banff, he began painting, and enrolled at the L'École des Beaux-arts in Montréal (1956 to 1960). Winning the Max Beckmann Scholarship, Daglish travelled to the Brooklyn Museum Arts School in New York to continue study painting. In 1961, he married Marian Brown in Banff. In 1963, they moved to London, England, and Daglish finished his studies in art at the Slade School (1963-1965). He began his teaching career at Ealing College in London, before moving back to Canada, and teaching at the University of Victoria (1969 to 1971). In 1973, Daglish was hired by Slade, and returned to the UK, where he taught printmaking until his retirement in 1996. His artwork has been exhibited internationally, and is held in numerous collections, including the Tate Modern, and the National Gallery of Canada
