Ian Pyper: “Paleolithique Moderne”

Ian Pyper: Ink and watercolor on paper. Click on any image for larger view.


Click on any image for larger view.


Click on any image for larger view.


Click on any image for larger view.


(Above) Ian Pyper: Ink and watercolor on paper. Click on any image for larger view.



AS A FREQUENT VISITOR TO THE NYC OUTSIDER ART FAIR, I HAVE SEEN THE WORK OF IAN PYPER and have always been impressed. Pyper was born in 1955 in Liverpool, England to a working class family. Born with only a thumb and two fingers on each hand, Pyper started drawing even as a kid. His father pushed him into drafting, seeing no future for the boy as an artist. After working for some time as an accountant for The National Coal Board, he walked away and started to draw. These beautiful drawings, in ink and watercolor represent two phases of his work. The bottom three drawings are his latest work.

Pyper’s work has been featured in, among others, Raw Vision Magazine, and was appropriately called “paleolithique moderne” by writer Joe Ryczko in 1994 (Les Friches de l’art). Pyper is often reluctant to part with his drawings, calling them a “personal, spiritual diary.”