Profile
A graduate of the Royal College of Art, Andrew Tyzack paints about our perception of and relationship with animals. These animals inhabit his dreams, and through painting, drawing and printmaking, his animal images are brought together for viewing and inspection, like the inhabitants of a Victorian collection.
Andrew is a third generation beekeeper and runs several hives in the East Riding of Yorkshire, UK. His earliest memory of beekeeping was helping his grandfather capture a wild colony of bees, established in the wall of a wooden hut: "in the smoky gloom Grandad gently took away the inner wall and there were the bees populating beeswax combs. Because the hut was gloomy and Grandad was gentle the bees just carried on with their lives. We weren't wearing any protective clothing at all, but I felt safe. Their doorway was where a knot had fallen out of a plank, but once we had captured the queen the colony was ours."
Early inspiration came from a boyhood curiosity for all things natural, and from the artists, writers, poets and dancers, such as the sculptor Andy Goldsworthy and the poet Liz Lochead, who were visitors to his home. Now bees and beekeeping are the central themes of his work.
Andrew's recent commissions include portraits, a ‘triptych’ of drawings based on the 'seductions by Zeus' in the guise of various animals, and ‘rehearsal drawings’ at the Royal National Theatre, London. Which are now represented in the Carl Heinz archive at the National Portrait Gallery, London, and at the Victoria and Albert theatre museum, London.
Andrew has been an artist-in-residence in Munich, Sweden and recently Hong Kong. He has also travelled to the Jim Corbett National Park, India; Taman Negara, equatorial rainforest, Malaysia and has camped in the game parks of Botswana and Zimbabwe. All of which has provided first hand inspiration to his artwork.
The Tyzack family originates from the Lorraine region of 13th century France where they were successful glass makers. To escape religious persecution the Tyzacks settled in England in the 16th century, where they continued to make glass. Today the Tyzacks are still a creative force, being a diverse family of artisans, actors and artists.
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