All About Manchester

Painting the town electric

The UEFA Cup Final 2008 may still be a few months away but it has already crowned a winner - celebrated local artist Liam Spencer, who has created the visual identity for the event. He tells All About Manchester he relished the challenge of bringing fine art and football together.

How long have you been painting for?

I left college in 1986, so more than 20 years.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I had a solo exhibition at The Lowry when it first opened in 2000 and there was a huge audience.

How would you describe your style?

I suppose it's impressionism in some ways. It's about light and atmosphere and weather and light. I am influenced by French impressionists and post-impressionists like Matisse and Marquet.

Liam Spencer, UEFA, All About Manchester

You are renowned for your vivid portrayals of urban landscapes. What do you find inspiring about this subject matter?

I like to find subject matters that we can all relate to. Most people live in urban areas so it's very natural for me to seek subject matter there rather than escape somewhere more picturesque. I think cities can be very beautiful.

You still live and work just outside Manchester. Would you advise fledgling artists to follow in your footsteps or move away from Manchester for career opportunities?

I think Manchester is much better now than it was. When I left college, you expected to have to move away from Manchester to London or further afield. There was very little support for artists here at the time. But it's so much better now. There are a lot more artists based in the city, a lot more galleries and exhibition opportunities. So I think Manchester is a very good place to be an artist now.

How did the UEFA commission come about?

From what I understand, the UEFA delegates were in Manchester in the summer of 2006, when I had an exhibition at Manchester Art Gallery. I think they had a function at the gallery so they saw my work and invited me to create something for the UEFA Cup Final.

What made this a great commission for you?

It's the first time UEFA has ever used original artwork for the Cup Final; it's usually computer generated design. And that's really what appealed to me about it - bringing original art and football together. Football fans, including people who wouldn't normally look at fine art, will be exposed to paintings whether they like it or not, and it'll be interesting to see what kind of response we get from them.

How detailed was your brief?

It was fairly detailed in the sense that they wanted a variety of images that they could use on things like stadium decoration, posters, websites and match tickets. So the aerial view of the City of Manchester Stadium was suggested to me and so were the side view of the stadium and the image of football fans enjoying the spectacle. They wanted these angles covered, so in that sense it was a very specific brief.

This is not how you usually work, is it?

No, I'm usually very averse to commissioned work. I much prefer to choose subjects myself, but because it was football, and such a high-profile event too, it was too tempting to refuse.

How much time did you have to produce the paintings?

Not much. I had a month really. But because I always work in slow-drying oil paint I had to get as much done as possible in the first couple of weeks and allow for drying time and making modifications.

Other than the tight deadline, did you face any challenges in painting the UEFA Cup images?

Because there was a client and a definite end use, it definitely introduced tensions that wouldn't have been there if I had been working for myself. I had a couple of false starts - I did some paintings that they told me they couldn't use because they had a lot of flags in them that I think they were worried would be associated with a particular team. It's very difficult to find any colours that aren't one team or another. But I anticipated it being a particular sort of job and I realised it wouldn't be the same as something that I was doing for myself so I was prepared to put up with… well I wouldn't call it interference, but guidance I suppose. I worked with London-based designers English and Pockett and they were really nice.

There is a great deal of blue in your UEFA paintings, which people will associate with Manchester City. Which football club do you support?

Burnley Football Club. Being associated with Manchester, it's quite useful that I don't show allegiance to either Manchester team.

What would you like football fans to feel when they look at your UEFA paintings?

What I like about football matches, and especially evening matches, is the way the atmosphere is charged with expectation. I tried to express that atmosphere, that electricity in the air, in my paintings. If people get that feeling from my work on the night of the event, I'll be happy.

Liam Spencer exhibits at Wendy J. Levy Contemporary Art in Didsbury, which also sells limited edition prints of his work, and Philips Contemporary Art on Tib Lane, Manchester.

The UEFA Cup Final 2008 takes place on May 14 at the City of Manchester Stadium. Tickets for the event go on sale on February 14 exclusively via UEFA's website, www.uefa.com

Manchester World Sport 08

2008 is the single biggest year of world sport in Manchester since the Commonwealth Games in 2002. The city will be hosting an exciting series of world-class events:

UCI Track Cycling World Championships

The top 30 track cycling nations will be competing for the coveted rainbow jerseys, while the GB team will be defending seven world crowns.

The Velodrome - National Cycling Centre, Sportcity, March 26 - 30. www.worldtrackcycling.com

9th FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 (25m)

Six hundred and fifty of the world's greatest swimmers from 120 countries will compete in the first world swimming championships of its kind to be staged in the UK.

MEN Arena, April 9 - 13. www.manchester2008.com

Paralympic World Cup

The annual international multi-sport event for elite athletes with a disability is set to feature up to 400 competitors from 40 countries. The programme will include athletics, swimming, track cycling and wheelchair basketball.

Sportcity and other venues, May 7 - 11. www.paralympicworldcup.com

BUPA Great Manchester Run

Britain's biggest and most prestigious 10km annual race. Past champions include one of the greatest distance runners of all time, Haile Gebrselassie.

Manchester city centre, May 18. www.greatrun.org

Hi-Tec World Squash Championships Manchester 2008

The most important event in the world squash calendar will attract the world's very best players, with representation from 40 countries. The 2008 event will be the first time that a combined men's and women's World Open Squash Championships has been held in the UK.

National Squash Centre, Sportcity, October 11 - 19. www.worldsquash2008.com

UEFA Cup Final 2008

The final of the world's largest club football competition, involving 80 clubs across Europe, will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

City of Manchester Stadium, May 14. www.uefa.com/competitions/uefacup

More information

For more information on Manchester World Sport 08 visit www.manchesterworldsport08.com

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