First and foremost I am a landscape artist with a passion for trees generally and winter trees in particular.
Whilst photographs and scenes provide ideas for compositions, most of my “treescapes” are imaginative with detail being drawn from continual observation and memory. A watercolour painting is based on a loose wash with little or no drawing and the image evolves during the process usually atmospheric in style, panoramic in format and easily recognisable to those know my work.
As a visiting tutor at the Centre of England Arts in Meriden and a demonstrator/ workshop provider at art societies throughout the Midlands this loose imaginative approach to watercolours has always provoked interest and hopefully inspiration.
A continued fascination with texture, movement and light in painting has drawn me to a more impressionistic/ semi-abstract style of work and a branching out of subject matter to include seascapes and “big sky” landscapes.
The Open Studios event will provide a great opportunity to further demonstrate this different approach to watercolour painting and how it can also be applied to work in acrylics. Besides a practical demonstration at the event I will be showing a step by step guide to my landscapes so that visitors can see how a picture evolves from the initial wash.
I will also be exhibiting over 100 original paintings either on display or in browsers
to exemplify both the style and progression of my work. More importantly perhaps is being on hand to discuss and answer questions about style, technique, motivation and inspiration - as with most artists I relish the opportunity to talk about my work !
Over the last 10 years I have been committed to raising money for charities such as Children’s Cancer, the British Heart Foundation and Music for Dementia by making donations from sales at exhibitions. I will also have for sale at the event greetings cards of my work and a book of prints which are sold solely to raise money for Cancer Research.
A biography detailing exhibitions and awards, examples of my work and information on demonstrations and workshops can be found on my website at www.ianridleywatercolours.co.uk