| Birth date |
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06/01/56
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| Education |
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1977 Manchester University BSc (Hons) Psychology
2001 Foundation in Art & Design at Mid-Cheshire College (Distinction)
2005 BA (Hons) Fine Art (Painting) NEWI, North Wales
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| Selected Commissions |
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2002 Group wedding portrait for Mrs Bron Warren
2003 Abstract painting for the private chapel of Bishop Brian Noble
2004 Two portraits of Stuart Meir
2004 Portrait of Miss Laurel Charlton-Blore
2004 Portrait of Lois Alexander
2005 Double portrait of Dave and Kath Rigby
2005 Child portrait of Eleanor Richards
2005 Portrait of Keith Jones
2006 Thea Gilmore: large scale painting of people in an interior to be used on an album cover.
2007 Elizabeth Paddon
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| Group Exhibitions |
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2000 Open Drawing Exhibition at Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham
2000 'Figures In My Landscape' Open Exhibition at Royal Birmingham Society of Artists, Birmingham
2004 Manchester Annual Open Exhibition, Manchester Academy of Fine Art, Salford Museum.
2004 Stockport Annual Open Exhibition, Stockport City Art Gallery
2004 '20:20' exhibition of student works, Oriel Corwen, Corwen, Wales
2004 144th Annual Open Exhibition, Royal Institute of Oil Painters, Mall Galleries, London
2005 Wrexham Open Exhibition, Wrexham Art Centre
2005 The Hunting Art Prizes Exhibition, Royal College of Art, London
2006 'Changing Ipswich' Open Art Exhibition, Ipswich Town Hall Galleries
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| Artist's Statement |
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Landscape painters talk about trying to evoke their experience of a place both physically, such as the feel of wind on their face, and emotionally. They also talk about the 'Genius Loci' or spirit of the place. That is exactly how I feel about my work except that I'm painting people. My works are subjective and works of art in their own right - as well as being good likenesses. I express my experience of the sitter through my choice of colour (rarely literal) composition, gesture and facial expression.
I am skilled in diverse painting techniques going back to the Rennaisance and am happy to make copies of Old Master paintings provided they are not passed off fraudulently as genuine works.
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| Statement |
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I like to meet and chat with the person I'm going to paint first and when they are at ease I then make a life drawing of them. This is to help me learn the shape of their face through close and extended observation - it is rarely the pose chose for the finished piece. I then take photographic references using a sensitive film so that I do not need to use a flash. Flashes are bad because they destroy shadows and shadows are needed to accurately describe the 3D shape of limbs on my 2D canvas.
I then go away and work out the composition of the painting and then make my own stretched canvas to fit the size and proportions needed. Once the canvas is primed I do a charcoal drawing on it. If I'm having trouble getting a good likeness at this point I stop and request another sitting. At this sitting I continue drawing directly on to the canvas. Once I'm happy with it (and I may prop it up in the studio and walk past it for days making little adjustments) I then fix it. I experiment with combinations of colours on a scrap of oil paper until I'm happy with my palette. This is usually restricted in order to give unity to the finished piece. Then I start painting on the canvas using the palette I've chosen.
The process takes about 10 to 12 weeks from initial sitting to delivery. It is advisable to varnish oil paintings 6 months after completion.
I'm very fussy about how my work is presented and I use a local framer who works for art galleries in my area. He customises frames to suit the piece. This can be done at cost. |
| Travel nationally |
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Yes |
| Travel internationally |
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Yes |
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| Prices |
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| Portrait Format: |
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Drawings |
From £ |
500 |
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Head and Shoulders |
From £ |
1500 |
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Half Length | From £ |
2000 |
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$ | null |
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3/4 Length | From £ |
2000 |
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$ | null |
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Full Length | From £ |
2500 |
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$ | null |
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Double Portrait | From £ |
3000 |
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$ | null |
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Group Portrait | From £ |
4000 |
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$ | null |
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Buildings | From £ |
1500 |
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$ | null |
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Animals | From £ |
1500 |
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$ | null |
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Murals
(price per square foot) | From £ |
2000 |
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$ | null |
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Wildlife | From £ |
500 |
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$ | null |
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Interiors | From £ |
650 |
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$ | null |
The
Prices quoted are for the standard mediums of oil on canvas and bronze
(in
the case of sculpture).
For other media, prices may vary, please enquire
directly with us for more specific quotes.
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| Press Quotes |
The Northwich Chronicle/ The Middlewich Chronicle, January 4th 2006
A mid Cheshire artist who specialises in portraiture has been working with one of the faces of 2006...
What it consists of Debbie won't say, fearing it will "steal the album's thunder" but you just have to take a look at some of her past works at... to realise that it's going to be something special.
It was by going on-line that Debbie, a mum of five, was first noticed by album producers Century Records (actually it was Thea and her manager but never mind!) 'They found me on a portrait website and the reason they chose me was that they weren't only interested in people, they wanted an interior painted in 3-D.'
Wrexham Evening Leader June 8th 2005
"The confident assurance in Debbie Richards' paintings produced some arresting images, particularly a child caught in the act of leaping, and an elderly couple portrayed in their kitchen, the whole scene suffused with degrees of yellow light.
I particularly liked their air of long marriage and the silence which comes when there is little left that needs to be said. The painting, a commission, is sold and Debbie was hoping the owners would show up to see it in the exhibition." (They did!)
Wrexham Evening Leader Oct 25th 2004
"Top show spot for Debbie's painting" Approx five column inches describing my painting 'Goddess' and how it was accepted by the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. "The creation depicts female sexual domination" and "challenges the concept of the so called 'male gaze' that aspires to own and control women".
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