Richard James Ball - Lancashire Landscape Artist
| Richard has lived amongst the beautiful Lancashire rural landscape
for all of his life. This has made a profound impact on his life and shaped him as a painter. Originally his family were farmers and some of
Richard's earliest memories were watching his grandfather working on the
farm. Richard recalls " I've always been an outdoors person I used to
play for hours with my friends in the local woods, then it was perhaps
over to my grandads farm or helping neighbouring farms hey making in summer.
I took for granted back then the immense simplicity and beauty that surrounded
me, it is only as things have changed that I realised what we had". Richard
is concerned with the rapid change to a lot of Lancashire's rural life
and has witnessed the closure of many farms and the redevelopment of the
countryside this has led to his main focus being the recording of this
traditional aspect of the landscape.
Richard also uses his love of history to guide his work. " I studied a Bsc ( Hons ) degree in Archaeology after college and I wasn't really focused on Art at that time, but I did do quite a lot of work on local history. Lancashire is full of amazing features, sites and legends and thanks to the work of people like Mary Higham, John Chadwick and John Dixon these traditions are being recognised more and more. I can't help but be influenced by the sense of history in this county its everywhere! It is a major factor in any landscape and I feel it should not be ignored, developers are you listening?." Richard spends many hours walking the hills and valleys of the locality exploring and developing his spiritual connection to the landscape. " I walked the Pennine way with my friend Richard Ormiston back in 2000. It took us sixteen day's of hard toil but it proved to be a life changing moment for me. I loved the freedom and connection it gave me. I recommend it for any antidote to stressed living. It also underlined the beauty of this overcrowded little island of ours and certainly impacted my work". When commenting on his influences Richard says " Artistically my influences are quite varied I try to soak up as much art as I can. I enjoy some contemporary art but I have more affinity with traditional painters. One contemporary artist I do like is Andy Goldworthy. I'm not exactly sure why I like his ideas but I guess it has a lot to do with his connection to the countryside. I must admit however my favourites are the more traditional artists Van Gogh, Lowry, Wallis, Klimpt, Rubens etc, artists with a brush in their hand and not necessarily a whole lot of academic training." There is always a great sense of energy in Richards work and he often captures the unseen views of the locality. In his more recent work Richard's dog Bill has started to make an appearance in his paintings recording the many adventures they have shared. Richard has been drawing and painting all of his life and he continues to grow and develop as an artist. If you are interested in any of Richard’s work please do not hesitate to contact the artist. There are signed limited edition prints for sale upon request. News and Exhibition details will be posted on the website when they are available. Thank you. |