Richard Meyer Paintings

Just a note about my 'Blog'

Before moving on to the paintings, I came across this in a bundle of old letters, but can't remember which was the painting Sheila was referring to.  It might have been The Fruiteater...

"First, your painting... it has as much impact on me as 'The Scream', and worried me by the probability that it really was a skull... as I haven't seen the whole painting, well I have to guess... but but but... the brushwork and the colours... wonderful... simply marvellous... I have gazed and gazed at it...

Of course, you have to remember the circumstances of your onlookers... little old ladies are determinedly squimish [sic]... and anything to remind them of how they will end up is a bit misery making, but I remember your words on that: to beckon the man with the scythe into the house, and give him a large Scotch...

But that beautiful brushwork..." Sheila Davies, 2003 (much missed)

(vide  "The retired pharmacist")

The Studio

Summer 2011, with solar panels installed

I was delighted to be offered Artist in Residency at the

National Trust's Bucks Mills Cabin

(see News below).

I have now completed my residency and begun to post some results - see Blog.

A few personal notes - for more details see Biography  -

For a painter, my background has been described as ‘elusive’. Perhaps because I worked for many years in wildlife conservation, concentrating on breeding rare species. This started as a teenager under the great conservationist and wildlife painter Sir Peter Scott at The Wildfowl Trust, Slimbridge.  Later I earned a PhD in ecology from Glasgow University, for work towards re-establishing the Cornish Chough.

To eke out a living I wrote many articles, papers and books, learning line-drawing to illustrate these myself until a burning passion for Fine Art finally overtook the restrictions of illustration. A knowledge of nature, behaviour and the dynamic relationship between our ‘civilised’ selves and a distant primitive animal heritage has influenced my work.  Has not a visual response to nature lurked in our DNA since we lived in caves? Picasso, no less, said "None of us can paint like that any more." We can but try Pablo.

As a result, Portraits, Landscapes, Still-lifes and Figurework leach out of my North Devon studio set, appropriately enough, between wild Exmoor and manipulated farmland, where I live with my lifelong lovely soulmate, Mij.  Work is founded on reality, ‘on objects interrupting light’, and abstracting psychological sexual energy from nature including the human of course. Sometimes they merge, as in Figurescapes.  Realising transitions were as important, prompted another category: Thresholds.

Life drawing provides the necessary rigour and discipline (vid. Methods). 

One critic said, “Richard Meyer’s paintings are vibrant and expressionistic, emerging from the margins of an eternal triangle, where Civilization meets Nature - meets Man - meets Woman."  And as Frances Fyfield, the crime writer, said “Richard can muck out the stables of an elephant!” Yes, that’s true, I can, and have, also Rhinos and Zebra and many other things including small children.

And so to the Paintings... 

                                               Click example here on the right >>>>>

She did come from God

Landscapes

Range of trees in a Cornish hedge, windy day

Still Life

Crysanthemums in a Paul Jackson vase

Pastels

Towards Stepper Point, N. Cornwall

Figurework

Model with arms raised, removing top preparing to pose

Portraits

Profile left

Line Drawings

AC drawing #18

 Figurescapes

  
4ft Figurescape - "Is that all there is?"

News and Exhibitions

I had the honour of being Artist in Residence for two weeks (June 12-23) at National Trust's magical Bucks Mills Cabin on the North Devon coast.

An Open weekend (17-18th) attracted many people who appreciated a rare chance to see inside this tiny time-capsule - haunt of two formidable female artists Judith Ackland & Mary Stella Edwards from 1913 to 1965.

I'm now busy working on the results of my time there. See Blog for some immediate examples.

Unquiet Life at The Plough Arts Centre The Plough has now ended. Thanks to Eilean Eland for backing me up so well with her fantastic ceramics.

Pleased to have participated in North Devon Art Trek (September) showing (Un)Still Lifes at The Plough (click on above image).

Exhibition still running at Shan Miller's extraordinary 'Loft' space gallery. See here.

This is a painting I did of Shan for one of her exhibitions in 2008.

The Old Bakery, Kingsbridge

South Devon TQ7 1JD

The Old Bakery, Restaurant

I had many paintings in the Community Centre at the Hatherleigh Festival (Click here) July 2015.

The Camelford Gallery

Some paintings at The Camelford Gallery currently,

including 

Almond grove in Andalucia

 Oil on canvas 46x61cm

My Blighty Girls show and auction in aid of Help For Heroes July 23rd at The Brownston Gallery (click The Brownston Gallery) Modbury raised over £1,000.  Based on 1940s wartime calendar girls.  Other quite different paintings are also on show.

Detail from "We love a country girl"

Two Life drawing workshops for The Pilton Art Group in Barnstaple in November (11th & 18th) were very enjoyable and productive. Thanks to models Shan and Mandy and all the participants who entered into my erratic teaching with such gusto.

Please let me know if you would like me to organise a workshop (erratic or otherwise) for individuals or groups.

The exhibition The Constructed Female was at The Plough Arts Centre (click here & see poster above) in November 2013, focussing on The Beauty of Imperfection referencing both my views of the self-made woman and, importantly, the way a painting is constructed - as a state of imperfection.  The show was a a sequel to The Structured Landscape in 2012.

An old friend, the brilliant studio potter Paul Jackson (click here) came up trumps with some of his great ceramics.

Many thanks to all who came and supported me.  For those who couldn't make it there are three short videos on YouTube showing elements of the show https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+constructed+female

Following my exhibition at the North Devon Museum (see below) I gave an illustrated talk at the Broomhill Sculpture Park on Wednesday 13th March for North Devon Arts (North Devon Arts).  This covered my career with a philosophical glance at art history.  I think those present - and there was a good turn-out - enjoyed it  but I was dissatisfied because I'd left too much to chance ordering my illustrations without taking into account them being transferred onto another system. This meant my carefully worked out order was scrobbled and took some time to rectify which consequently meant I had to rather rush things, leaving out some hilarious anecdotes!

On the 21st January 2013 Richard was awarded a small bursary for the 11th Open Art Show at the Museum of North Devon (left) in an exhibition supporting 'Showreal' - the short film festival - see Blog entry.