A Brush with Life

Peter Le Vasseur’s art depicts the beauty of the world and the pressure that humankind exerts upon it. Not content with merely creating highly researched nature art, his work carries an ecological message often ahead of its time. Unusually for an artist he builds in the detail of contemporary life during the decades through which he has lived, painting in a meticulous and distinct style. He escaped the Channel Island of Guernsey with his parents just before the German Occupation in 1940 and grew up in London as a refugee. Winning a scholarship to art college he went on to create pop art for one-man shows in major London galleries and sold to the Beatles, film stars and aristocracy. In A Brush With Life, Jason Monaghan presents the definitive work on Le Vasseur’s life and work, charting his progression from pop art and fantasy to political pieces, book illustration and environmental paintings. Never depressing, the messages of both artist and author are thoughtful, and sometimes ironically amusing. Throughout, Le Vasseur’s central philosophy is evident: where nature survives, hope remains.