First and foremost I am a landscape artist living and working in Feckenham, Worcestershire with a passion for trees generally and winter trees in particular. Stripped of their foliage, I see their trunks and branches as wonderful forms, patterns, shapes and textures and find constant inspiration from my daily walks in the Worcestershire countryside.
Whilst photographs sometimes provide loose compositions, many of my paintings are imaginative places with detail being drawn from continual observation and memory. Hence I am not restricted to a specific scene and many paintings, being initially based on a loose wash with little or no drawing, evolve during the process.
Initially I worked exclusively in watercolour where I developed from traditional landscapes to a more subdued, atmospheric style, often in a panoramic format, and easily recognisable by those who know my work. Occasionally the initial washes suggest alternative subjects and become figurative, coastal or simply abstract images – it is all a matter of imagination.
Not wanting to simply replicate my watercolours in a different medium, my acrylics, whilst sharing the same subject matter and execution, are very different in style with a bolder use of colour and texture. The initial brushwork always suggests a more impressionistic approach although the end result can often be seen as a realistic expression of a scene.
Over the last few years I had already taken some brief excursions into “big sky “ pictures and semi abstract landscapes when I met by chance one of the marine artists for the French Navy. Inspired by this meeting I started to incorporate the sea into my big sky paintings where I could experiment with movement, texture and atmosphere in my seascapes. I also, really for the first time, started to paint actual places, particularly the beaches on the North coast of Cornwall.
Despite this recent divergence in subject matter I always return to my passion and am continually amazed at how the limited topic of trees can provide so many opportunities for development, experimentation and imagination.
My love for landscapes and for winter trees in particular can be summarized by a quote from a poem by Roy Campbell :
“ I love to see when leaves depart,
The clear anatomy arrive,
Winter, the paragon of art”
Biography
I have had paintings selected for several years in the Royal Birmingham Society of Artist’s Prize Exhibition in June and have sold to collectors in Europe, Japan and the USA.
In 2011 I held a successful month long solo exhibition at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham and one of my paintings was selected as Best in Show at the Quinton Arts festival in Birmingham in 2011, 2012 and again in 2015. I have also had two solo exhibitions in acrylics in the gallery at Malvern Theatre and another at the Number 9 Gallery in Pershore.
Examples of my work and details were chosen to be featured in the American ICA publication “International Contemporary Artists” and in 2012 my work was featured in the national “The Artist” magazine.
In Feb 2013 I was elected to be a member of the prestigious Birmingham Watercolour Society and I have been involved in the “apictureforhealth” charity in Worcestershire. Besides being accepted to exhibit and demonstrate at the annual Patchings Art Festival near Nottingham I have been a regular tutor at the Centre of England Art Centre and also regularly run workshops for art societies and groups throughout the Midlands where I offer an exciting approach to atmospheric landscapes. I am now one of a number of artist/makers in my village who operate, exhibit, share opportunities, and network collectively as "Feckenham Artisans".
In September 2014 one of my paintings gained a runners up award in an international “Artist of the Year” competition sponsored and judged by Winsor and Newton. My painting “Into the Light” achieved 2nd place in a competition organised by the online gallery. “ArtistsInfo” and judged by Daler Rowney in September 2015. This success was repeated in 2017 with one of my watercolours and a second painting was selected for an online exhibition.
During the Covid years I wrote an online tutorial published by the SAA on my treescapes and had paintings accepted as finalists in the annual Broadway Art Festival’s Open Art Competition in both 2021 and 2022. In 2019 I was invited to have a solo exhibition in the gallery at Shenstone's Community Centre and its success led to me being invited back for a second exhibition in 2022.
I publish greetings cards of my work and a book of prints (currently being prepared for a 5th edition) outlining my journey through the art world, all of which are sold to raise money for cancer charities. I also regularly make donations to various charities, eg The BHF, Children's Cancer , Music for Dementia, The Red Cross Ukraine Appeal, from sales at my exhibitions.
More details and many examples of my work can be found on my website
www.ianridleywatercolours.co.uk