About Keith Bird

Keith Bird at Eye Feast 2026: Essex oil paint, character, and a Yorkshire walk

Regent's Park Gallery  ·  1 June 2026

Keith Bird's paintings observe everyday life with affection and a wry eye. A self-taught artist from Essex working predominantly in oil on canvas, his subjects span a wide range — fishermen pulling cockles from the estuary at Leigh-on-Sea, a corner shop in Westcliff that 'could be in any big town or city, mundane, depressing and dull but somehow captivating, especially on a rainy day' (his words), and three mad chefs in a kitchen built for fun. 

About the artist

Keith’s work is quirky, playful, gritty and humorous, with subjects that range from rural cattle to urban corner shops, from working chefs to quiet domestic moments. He observes everyday life — sometimes satirical, sometimes surreal — and adapts his style to suit the subject. He is represented by Regent's Park Gallery.

The work in the show

Bringing in the Cockles — £450 (est)

Oil on canvas, framed, 40 × 50 × 3.5 cm.

From Keith's signature fisherman series, the painting was originally inspired by a man trudging through estuary mud at Leigh-on-Sea. view.

Corner Shop — £485 (est)

Oil on canvas, framed, 50 × 60 × 3.5 cm.

Painted from a shop in Westcliff-on-Sea, but as Keith puts it: 'It could be in any big town or city. Mundane, depressing and dull — but somehow captivating, especially on a rainy day.'

Feet Up — £300

Oil on canvas, framed, 55 × 65 × 3.5 cm. 'That feeling of putting your feet up after a day's work.'

Moo-ve On — £500

Oil on canvas, framed, 60 × 50 × 5 cm. From a walking trip in Yorkshire, where Keith stumbled across a scene of cattle with the farming couple looking after them — 'I could almost sense a bond between Mr and Mrs Farmer and their cattle.' The painting's title is the pun the cows can't escape.

The Heat is On (3 mad chefs) — £550 (est)

Oil on canvas, framed, 70 × 90 × 4 cm. The biggest piece in his Eye Feast batch. 'An opportunity to have fun with expressions and characters — I enjoyed painting this playful piece.'

Double Vision — £550

Oil on canvas, framed, 90 × 70 × 3.5 cm. Keith's Curator Space submission for Eye Feast. 'Trying to capture the moment when the focus isn't so sharp — my aim was to make this a challenging one to look at. The song Happy Hour by The Housemartins was on my mind a lot whilst painting this.'

Crêpe Chef — £400

Oil on canvas, framed, 42 × 53 × 2.5 cm. A late addition. A crêpe maker in his beret and blue-striped apron at the griddle, Crêpes sign behind him, a jar of Nutella on the table. Character in oil.

Coming up at Regent's Park Gallery

A two-person show featuring Keith Bird and Aaron Jolley opens on Friday 3 July 2026 at Regent's Park Gallery, just one week after Eye Feast closes. Both artists' Eye Feast pieces give a sense of what's coming — but the two-person show will be a fuller picture of each.

Where to see the work

All seven works are in Eye Feast 2026 at Regent's Park Gallery, 17 Princess Road, London NW1 8JR, from 5 June to 27 June 2026. Prices range from £300 to £550. Each painting is oil on canvas, framed, and signed by the artist.