Complex process

Mar 24
2 min read

Words by Hannah Tapping

An artistic celebration of the minutiae, the throwaway and the ephemeral.

Phil Miller, Phil Miller photography, Phil Miller artist, Whitstable artist, Kent artist, Devon landscape artist, contemporary photography, collage artist, oil painter, multidisciplinary artist, British visual artist, photographic collage, landscape photography, geometric landscape painting, wooded landscapes, observational photography, everyday life in photography, service station photography, A303 landscapes, roadside Britain, Fleet Services, Welcome Break Fleet, M3 service station, Fleet collage, Canterbury City Council commission, South Quay Shed, Whitstable Harbour, harbour collage, fishing boats, craft and fishing imagery, commercial art commission, transient spaces, petrol station collage, gas station collage, Bus Shelter Devon, Sheppy Landscape, Sheppy Sunrise Fog, Water Park film still, Spring Static, Budleigh Salterton Beach Devon, contemporary British landscape, documentary-inspired art, self-taught painter, film and television background, commissioned collage artwork — Fleet Services

Phil Miller’s photography is a commentary on everyday life. With a background in film and television, Miller has in recent years moved into oil painting. Self-taught, his painting practice began through the creation of backgrounds for photographic collage work. As his painting developed, his photography shifted towards landscapes, which in turn began to influence his oil paintings, resulting in geometric scenes that often feature wooded environments.

Based in Whitstable, Kent, Miller has also spent significant time in Devon, where his elderly parents live. Regular journeys between Whitstable and Devon along the A303 became a key influence on his work, particularly the landscapes and service stations encountered along the route.

In 2025, Miller created a collage for Fleet Services on the M3, drawing on photographs taken during frequent visits. He also spent two days on site photographing transient life within the service station, which became the canvas for the final artwork. The piece now hangs in the hall of the sout-westbound entrance.

Miller has also completed a commissioned collage artwork for Canterbury City Council, created for the South Quay Shed on Whitstable Harbour. Inspired by the visual symmetry between a local craft group that meets weekly in the shed and the fishermen working in the harbour, the work draws parallels between the needles used by the group and the masts of the fishing boats, as well as between the act of mending nets and the rhythm of crochet.”

Miller is currently working on a new series of paintings, with a view to exhibiting later this year, while also undertaking commercial projects that combine his multidisciplinary creative practice.

philmillerphotography.com