My name is Richard Green and I am a part time artist based in Preston, Lancashire (UK). I have always had an interest in art, when I was a child a constant supply of paper was available for drawing from a relative who worked in a paper mill. At secondary school I was an average art student but enjoyed art lessons, primarily due to the encouragement and enthusiasm of my art teacher Mr McKay.
At the age of thirteen…
I had to choose my subjects for the final two years study. I wanted to take Woodwork, Technical Drawing and Art but these were classed as craft subjects and because I was in the top form I was only allowed to take two and a foreign language – it being a mandatory subject (I took Spanish if you’re interested).
Dad resolved my dilemma in his usual pragmatic way “take technical drawing and woodwork lad, they’ll help you get an apprenticeship – if you want to draw a cat you can do that in your spare time” so that’s what I did. Spanish has proved very useful over the years “Mas cerveza por favor” & “no hablo Español” that’s about my limit.
Well, the drawing of cats took a back seat when I left school in 1980…
And so began my working career with British Gas as an apprentice gas service engineer. I have been involved in the gas industry for thirty seven years, the last twelve as a trainer for a boiler manufacturer. I am married with three children and 5 grandchildren (it’s difficult to give an accurate number as they move too fast to count). After years at the coal face earning the means to pay the numerous begging letters I received (overdraft, mortgage, credit cards etc.) I now find I have some free time to pursue my interest in painting.
About 15 years ago I bought a Cotman set of watercolours and was instantly hooked but only really dabbled with the medium. My early influences have been through the work and books of Ron Ranson, especially those books on the Edwards – Seago & Wesson. My interest in these two artists ultimately lead me to the door of Wiltshire artist and teacher Steve Hall
At this point…
I would like to acknowledge and thank Steve, a friend and mentor, without his guidance and patience (I can be very trying) my painting would still be mediocre. Steve has really helped me to understand the mechanics of watercolour and for that I will always be grateful (I’m filling up now!)
Why do I paint?
Cheese alert – we’ve all met people who are very organised and work in a logical/process way, they are very efficient and thorough (left brain bias) if you want the detail of a thing these are the people to seek out,taken to its extreme this quality can make individuals appear as if they were an automaton or inflexible in outlook.
The opposite – are those individuals who are really creative and who can, for example, produce fantastic things by taking what some would class as junk and repurposing it (right brain bias). This taken to its extreme can make some individuals appear a bit scatty and disorganised.
Therefore having spent a lot of time in a job which requires a lot of process/analytical thinking; I felt that there was something lacking – an imbalance if you will therefore a creative outlet was required and picking up my early interest in art seemed to be the logical (there’s that left brain again) step.
One of the benefits of painting is that my network of friends has grown, meeting and socialising with other artists has become one of my greatest pleasures and through painting I have made many firm friendships.
What do I paint?
Primarily I’m self taught with a lot of my painting being completed in the studio from photographs and sketches. My main interest is in the landscape, I enjoy painting in the field in front of the scene but don’t get to do this as much as I would like however this year I have resolved to get out on location more (hopefully sharing my experiences with you).
With regard to subject matter portraiture, still life and interiors are areas I will be trying to improve upon over the next twelve months.
My aim is to try and paint in a loose impressionistic style, sometimes I have moments of clarity and produce a piece of work that I don’t beat myself up too much over, those are the images on this site and I hope that you enjoy looking at them. Finally, once again, I would like to thank you for your interest in and for taking the time to visit my site.
All the Best
Richard
Richard G Green Watercolours 