CONTACT
Email: rba@hotmail.co.uk
Social
Media: www.facebook.com/ArtRba
Social Media: Instagram artrba17
Social Media: Instagram artrba17
ART TUTORS:
Eileen Brautman, Florida based. Esther
Thoms, Surrey based. Tereska Shepherd, Aberystwyth and
Shropshire based. Judy Maklin, Aberystwyth based.
Helen Ingham, North Wales
based. Paul Webster, Aberystwyth based.
ART COURSES AND SESSIONS ATTENDED
Celebrity
Eclipse
General
introduction to watercolours, 2012 (approx 7 hours)
Lifelong
Learning, Aberystwyth University
Botanical
illustration, April 2015 (4 consecutive days)
MIND Aberystwyth, February 2015 - Current
General, (one morning per week)
MIND Aberystwyth, February 2015 - Current
General, (one morning per week)
P&O Aurora
Watercolour
techniques, August 2015 (approx 16 hours)
Lifelong Learning,
Aberystwyth University
Seas and
Skies, 2015 (6 evenings)
Lifelong Learning,
Aberystwyth University
Nocturnes,
2015 (6 evenings)
WEA-YMCA
Cymru
Sea and
Shore, January 2016 (6 afternoons)
WEA-YMCA
Cymru
Art
workshop, March 2016 (1 day)
WEA-YMCA
Cymru
Working
with Colour (still life), April 2016 (5 afternoons)
Lifelong Learning,
Aberystwyth University
Imaging
the Landscape (Pastels), June 2016 (4 days)
Aberystwyth University
Life Drawing (Pencil, Watercolour, Pastels) Oct-Dec 2017 (8 evenings)
Lifelong Learning, Aberystwyth University
Introduction to Art, Nov 2017 - Jan 2018 (8 afternoons)
PROCESSES AND SUBJECT MATTER:
My general focus is on landscapes, seascapes, Masonic art, portraits, and cityscapes; working with Watercolour, Acrylic,
Watercolour Pencils, Inktense Pencils, HB and Graphite Pencils, Mono Printing,
Ink, Pigment Liners, Charcoal, Soft Pastels, Oil Pastels and oil paint. I occasionally explore methods to include my
original poetry into the art form.
SUPPORTS:
For watercolour
and water soluble media it is A5 to A3 on cold press paper, preferably a Block.
My favourite papers are Arches, Bockinford, and Langton
Prestige, but sometimes apply watercolour to small pieces of plywood. For acrylic I use small 9 x 6 inches, and
Canvas Boards up to 22 x 18 inches. My most
recent large acrylic painting was a seascape of the P&O Azura. For oil painting I prefer to use a canvas over oil paper. My largest canvas is being bought in the first week of January at 60x90cm which for me is huge. It is intended to be used an an oil portrait as a gift for a friend.
INSPIRATION:
I’m
inspired by James Whistler (1834-1903) and John Piper (1903-1992), and traditional
‘Old Masters’. I photograph scenes that inspire
my art and use a digital notepad as a ‘Visual Diary’. One of my best paintings to date is an acrylic copy of Turner's oil painting 'Fishermen at Sea'. My current winter project 2017-18 is a copy of Leonardo's 'Salvator Mundi'. I'm no Turner or Leonardo, but I do find that trying to copy an Old Master as a way of learning how to use the products and tools.
ABOUT ME:
I tend to
gift artwork to friends and those who impact positively on my life. Art is my passion, and that passion fuels the
use of various media and styles. The art
took off after attending an art group in January 2015. The use of charcoal for
the first time on that visit, led to the desire to use soft pastels on my next
visit. A pastels course that I had booked
was cancelled and I switched to using watercolours and water soluble pencils in
their various forms. The first art course
that I attended (botanical illustration) was a dreadful affair, with the days
drawn out in frustration. But it was the
start of a journey that led to attending ‘seas and skies’ and ‘Nocturnes’. I think that I’m now a capable watercolourist
and a self taught pastelist as well as self taught in acrylics and oils.
EXHIBITED WORK
‘Words’
(six framed images of various media linked with six poems)
Ultracomida, Aberystwyth, 06 June 2016 to 18 July 2016 NFS
