Kevin Sinnott is one of the most popular artists in Britain: his figures in landscape and images of human relationships are widely sought-after by collectors and museums. This unusual book celebrates his sixtieth birthday – unusual in that it is written by the artist himself.

Part autobiography, part exploration of his art, it describes the British art scene over the last thirty years through personal experience. Sinnott''s life is a great human interest story: struggling artist, success in London, downturn, success in America, rebirth in his native Wales. Behind the Canvas is real life, not an art historian''s interpretation.

The book has much to say about (and a contribution to make to) ''art history'', discussing key works, turning points, influences, artistic fashion, trends, and the art media. Written with intelligence and immediacy, and beautifully illustrated with Sinnott''s vivid and lively paintings, Behind the Canvas is an informative and singular book which tells the reader as much, more even, about the world of British art in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries than any critical book can.

''Part treatise, part confessional autobiography, part journal, with occasionally detailed explications of individual paintings, Behind the Canvas is a welcome addition to Seren''s growing list of contemporary art in Wales."
Planet

Born in South Wales in 1947, Kevin Sinnott is a contemporary Welsh artist with a truly international reputation. He trained at The Royal College of Art, and remained in London during the 70s and 80s, building a successful career, exhibiting at several leading galleries, and in major galleries in the U.S.A. and Europe. His paintings are to be found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the British Museum, Royal College of Art, Ashmolean Museum, and private collections worldwide. His painting ''Running Away with the Hairdresser'' was voted by visitors as their favourite at the National Museum of Wales.