STEVE CAMPS

THE ARTIST

STEVE CAMPS

Steve Camps was born in Cornwall in 1957, and worked as a builder for most of his life. Although always having had a passion for collecting vintage art and frames, it wasn’t until his retirement in February 2023 that he decided to turn his own hand to painting.

With an existing interest in antiques and painting, Camps began to experiment with imagery of whales: creating an array of entrancing scenes. With their beautiful muted colours, and each one carefully framed from Steve’s own collection, the result is a magical combination of traditional style, and unmistakable character.

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“I always liked collecting old items from fairs and car boots, and was especially drawn to paintings. After a while I started to collect art: buying in auctions and wherever I could find it.

I think the first whale painting was after I just retired from building, and on holiday I bought two 1950s watercolours from a charity shop in Carmarthen, Wales. They were of whaling ships, which I thought was an unusual subject. I decided to paint a whale, put it into an old frame, and sold it online for a few quid. So I started to paint more and do the same. I was so surprised when a few months later Sailors Jail contacted me to exhibit them, but I think it’s great that so many people like my paintings.’

Since the beginning of 2024, Steve's story and paintings have now gone viral, with celebrities and art dealers clamouring to get hold of them, and values increasing by more than 10x in the space of a few months.