![A 123E Ford Anglia parked outside a suburban home in one of Kieran Gabriel’s prints Classic & Sports Car – Motoring art: Kieran Gabriel](/sites/default/files/styles/article/public/2022-09/Classic%20%26%20Sports%20Car%20%E2%80%93%20Motoring%20art%20%E2%80%93%20Kieran%20Gabriel%20%E2%80%93%2005.png?itok=Fdap7cNU)
Be it a deserted ’60s housing estate with a prized Ford Anglia on the drive or a classic VW Golf sitting in the long shadows of London railway arches with The Shard on the misty horizon, the stylish prints of Kieran Gabriel have a tranquil mood.
Atmospheric colours and a bold, economical style have a dreamy quality that contrasts with modern urban congestion.
The work of the American realist painter Edward Hopper was an inspiration for Gabriel, particularly the New Yorker’s city compositions from the 1930s.
“Hopper’s use of light and shadow was a huge influence on how I observe things,” explains Gabriel. “David Hockney’s paintings are also something I go to regularly for reference.”
![A Mk1 Volkswagen Golf shown in one of Kieran Gabriel’s pieces Classic & Sports Car – Motoring art: Kieran Gabriel](/sites/default/files/2022-09/Classic%20%26%20Sports%20Car%20%E2%80%93%20Motoring%20art%20%E2%80%93%20Kieran%20Gabriel%20%E2%80%93%2001.png)
Only a glimpse of The Shard dates this artwork, with a Mk1 Volkswagen Golf parked in the shadows
Growing up in Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula, Gabriel has always been surrounded by dramatic architecture, particularly across the Mersey in Liverpool.
“I’ve always been creative,” he says. “Through school, college and university, art was my number-one focus.