Trevor Southey is a native of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Africa, born in 1940 of immigrant European ancestry. He is a painter, printmaker, and a sculptor. He lives in the Bay area in California.

Southey attended art schools in England and South Africa before coming to the United States in 1965 to attend Brigham Young University. After receiving his degrees, he joined the B.Y.U. art faculty.

Southey's work is included in numerous private collections in the United States and throughout the world, ranging from that of actress Brook Shields to Senator and Mrs. Orrin Hatch. His work is also included in a wide variety of institutional and corporate collections.

Biography adapted from material supplied by the Artist.

Trevor Southey is a native of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), Africa, born in 1940 of immigrant European ancestry. His interest in art developed at an early age when rheumatic fever confined him to bed for months at a time, and often, his only companions were a pen, pencil, and paper.

Southey attended art schools in England and South Africa before coming to the United States in 1965 to attend Brigham Young University (BYU). After receiving his degrees, he joined the BYU art faculty. While teaching there, he became a founding member of the highly significant Mormon Art and Belief Movement (1966-1976). Southey personally worked to establish a "Mormon Art" form through his use of Latter-day Saint theology. In 1977, he decided to dedicate his full energies to an art career, resigned from the faculty at BYU and, in 1982, established a studio in Salt Lake City.

As a Figurative-Realist, Southey, like the Renaissance painters, uses the physical body to portray the soul. Rather than merely depicting the figure, he unconsciously evokes the spirituality of the human form through his use of other-worldly, everyman figures, combining realism with personal allegorical content. Talking about his art and his life, Southey says:

There is a strange element of surprise in suddenly finding oneself middle-aged, and internalizing the fact that one is perceived as an artist. There was not really any other natural thing for me to do with my life. . . . Certainly, the direction of my work was never planned. It is rooted simply in my being and my personal history. . . . Some artists are a little shy about such introspection; I rather like the inquiry, enjoying especially the increased perspective which others bring to the work. But I have become less and less sure of the answers. . . . I used to work more with answers; things as they should be tended to dominate my work. . . . I think my work these days is more inclined to ask questions.

In 1983, Southey moved to San Francisco, where his work found critical and popular success. During the 1990s he commuted between San Francisco and Utah, working in both states. Over the past two decades he has become proficient in sculpture and printmaking as well as in painting.

The intaglio prints of Full Bloom was made using the etching technique. Etchings are made by drawing with a sharp tool on a metal plate covered with asphaltum, a black, sticky substance that resists acid. The tool creates the drawing by exposing areas of the metal plate. The plate is then bathed in acid, which bites into the exposed parts of the metal and creates depressed lines where the drawing was. The plate is then cleaned of asphaltum, inked, and printed under heavy pressure. The original drawing now appears as the printed image.

Full Bloom began as a representational pencil drawing of a woman Southey knew from his church. The experience of creating the image led Southey to thoughts of death, resurrection, the cycle of life, and of moving to a new stage of life. In the final artwork, the woman has become more a universal symbol than a depiction of a particular person.

This print was part of a series of prints; Southey made each print unique by using the individual elements of art in different places and in different combinations in each one. The delicate elegance of Southey's draftsmanship suits the ideas he was exploring. Although New Bloom is not typical of his work, Trevor feels this particular print is one of his most successful pieces. He says the print is like a walk down a country lane, and he believes it successfully communicates his intended message.

Biography courtesy of The Springville Museum of Art.

Artist's Website.

Newspaper Articles

"17 Top-Notch Artists Teaching Workshops at KAC." The Deseret News, August 9, 1992.

"14 Artists 'Reunite' At Kimball Art Center." The Deseret News, February 23, 1992.

"Aids Benefit Was Worthy of an Oscar." The Salt Lake Tribune, March 26, 1999.

"Airport Artwork to Give World Travelers 1st Visions of Utah." The Salt Lake Tribune, April 20, 1995.

"Alpine recital Series Opens Friday." The Deseret News, September 26, 1990.

"And Now, The Nudes." The Salt Lake Tribune, June 16, 2002.

"Art Canvass." The Deseret News, August 12, 1990.

"Art Canvass." The Deseret News, July 19, 1992.

"'Art for Life' Auction Today Benefits Utah Aids Foundation." The Salt Lake Tribune, December 5, 1993.

"Artists In Their Natural Habitats." San Francisco Chronicle, October 8, 1989.

"Art Notes: Mixed-media Show Opens at Kimball." The Salt Lake Tribune, July 7, 1991.

"Art: Painter David Linn Walks an Enigmatic Path." The Salt Lake Tribune, March 23, 1997.

"Art Notes: Photo Show Opens at U.S.U." The Salt Lake Tribune, May 5, 1991.

"Art Notes: High School Show Opens." The Salt Lake Tribune, April 21, 1991.

"Artist Southey Always Draws a Crowd." The Salt Lake Tribune, August 7, 1998.

"Art Treasures Offer Possibilities for Treasured Christmas Gifts- Salt Lake Area Exhibits Tailored to Fit Many Holiday Budgets." The Deseret News, December 11, 1988.

"Bad Dog Rediscovers America." The Deseret News, October 18, 1998.

"Blue -- Multifaceted Color is Focal Point of Exhibit." The Deseret News, December 6, 1998.

"Building on a Dream: Construction Mogul Thomas J. Howa is Reborn as a Professional Painter." The Salt Lake Tribune, January 16, 2000.

"Bulletin Board." The Salt Lake Tribune, September 23, 1995.

"Censoring Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, September 4, 1997.

"Censorship; Arts Funding A Casualty of Culture War." The Salt Lake Tribune, February 23, 1997.

"City of Hope, Night With the Stars Honor Their Causes." The Salt Lake Tribune, September 8, 2002.

"Coming Up: Visual art." The Salt Lake Tribune, January 4, 1998.

"Coming Up: Visual arts." The Salt Lake Tribune, April 13, 1997.

"Coming Up: Visual Arts." The Salt Lake Tribune, December 31, 1995.

"Coming Up: Visual Coming Up: Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, February 26, 1995.

"Coming Up: Visual Arts." The Salt Lake Tribune, January 16, 1994.

"Cries of Censorship Ring At U. After Painting Moved; Painting Moved; Students Cry Censorship." The Salt Lake Tribune, August 27, 1997.

"Democrats Protest Chopped Arts Fund." The Salt Lake Tribune, May 20, 2003.

"Dinner/Auction raises Money, Awareness for Cerebral Palsy Dinner." The Salt Lake Tribune, October 24, 1993.

"Double Prints: Intaglio Artist Unveils His Photography, Too." The Salt Lake Tribune, October 1, 1995.

"Eyes of the Beholder." The Salt Lake Tribune, October 8, 2000.

"Fantasy, Macabre Art on Exhibit in Utah County- Galleries Have Treats for Halloween Visitors." The Deseret News, October 23, 1988.

"Framable Birth Certificate Benefits Child-Abuse Fund." The Deseret News, August 4, 1991.

"Galleries Adding Color to Old Mining Town." The Deseret News, July 23, 2000.

"Galleries Spring into Action." The Deseret News, March 17, 1991.

"Killer Art: For Painter/Sculptor Michael Coleman, Nature is Wild, Beautiful and Fair Game; Coleman Depicts Bloody Side of Nature." The Salt Lake Tribune, November 16, 1997.

"Mormon Angel Varieties Don't Have Wings and They Don't Float in Air." The Salt Lake Tribune, August 7, 1993.

"North Mountain Artists Invite You to Walk into Their World." The Deseret News, May 20, 1990.

"North Mountain Draws Hundreds to First Art Walk." The Deseret News, June 3, 1988.

"Off-the-Wall Exhibits Really are Sculpture and Art Pieces." The Deseret News, March 18, 1990.

"Old Town Gallery Survives by Staying Current." The Salt Lake Tribune, November 22, 1991.

"Out & About." The Salt Lake Tribune, October 12, 2001.

"Park City Galleries Blossom With Beauty Amid the Snow." The Deseret News, December 20, 1992.

"Park City Galleries Use Artful Wiles." The Deseret News, September 1, 1991.

"People With AIDS Coalition honors 6 heroes." The Salt Lake Tribune, October 26, 1997.

"Regular and Featured Artists Give Park City Gallery-Hoppers a Treat." The Deseret News, September 9, 1990.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, October 29, 2000.

"Southey `Reconciliation': Look Beyond the Flesh." The Salt Lake Tribune, May 11, 1997.

"State of the Art Valley's Public Artwork Draws Cheers, Jeers from Connoisseurs." Phoenix Gazette, June 7, 1992.

"Taking an Art Walk Along the Bull River." The Deseret News, May 8, 1988.

"The Pierpont Gallery an Exercise in Collaboration for Both Artists and Architects." The Deseret News, May 26, 1988.

"The Spirit of Utah." The Deseret News, February 3, 2002.

"The Third Wave." The Deseret News, October 20, 2002.

"Tis Season for Charities Seeking Support." The Salt Lake Tribune, October 31, 1991.

"Trevor Southey Comes to Terms with Himself; Southey Reconciles His Life and His Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, August 23, 1998.

"Trevor Southey's Traditional Roots." The Salt Lake Tribune, October 14, 1990.

"Utah Artists and Craftsmen Cover Broad Spectrum of Styles, Appeal." The Deseret News, October 2, 1988.

"Utahns Generous in Their Bidding at Auction to Aid Ouelessebougou." The Deseret News, May 9, 1988.

"Visit Pleasant to Springville Museum." The Salt Lake Tribune, March 3, 1991.

"Visual Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, February 16, 2001.

"Visual Arts." The Salt Lake Tribune, February 2, 1992.

"`Visual Illiteracy Colors and Shapes a Writer's Existence." The Deseret News, June 3, 1990.

"Visual Treats galore This Weekend at Park City's Festival, Galleries." The Deseret News, August 7, 1988.

"What Do Steve Bochco, Mahonri Young Have in Common?" The Salt Lake Tribune, October 24, 1999.

"What Does it take for an Art Gallery to Weather the Storm in Park City?" The Deseret News, June 9, 1991.

"What's Coming: Art." The Salt Lake Tribune, March 26, 1995.

Books

Bowker, R.R. Who's Who in American Art, 1993-94. New York, NY: R.R. Bowker, 1993.

Dunbier, Roger. North American Artists: The Artists Bluebook. Scottsdale, AZ: AskART.com, 2000.

Olpin, Robert S., William C. Seifrit, and Vern G. Swanson. Artists of Utah. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith Publisher, 1999.

Southey, Trevor. Trevor Southey: Reconciliation. Salt Lake City, UT: Signature Books, 1997.

Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, and William C. Seifrit. Utah Art. Layton, UT: Gibbs Smith Publishing Co, 1991.

Swanson, Vern G., Robert S. Olpin, and William C. Seifrit. Utah Paintings and Sculpture. Salt Lake City, UT: Gibbs Smith Publishers, 1991.

R. R. Bowker Co. Who's Who in American Art 1976. New York, NY: R.R. Bowker Company, 1976.

Periodicals

Burgess, L., and W. Dunlap, "A Personal Philosophy of Art," Art & Antiques, January, 2003.