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absolute timelessness and grace as well as mystery. "I like my paintings to tell a story or create a bit of mystery. A book, film or song can do this over time but my challenge is to capture a similar feeling in a single image. I am never truly happy with a piece unless I feel it holds enough to stop and intrigue the viewer, if only for a moment." From fun to fine detail Richard's studio is based at his home in Cardiff, with his work carefully structured around a 9-5 day so that family life and painting are firmly separated. Working entirely in oils, he has developed his own particularly process. He starts with an idea of the kind of composition he wants to achieve then puts together a scrapbook of elements he wants to include, such as images, sketches and photographs. "My paintings have a kind of life cycle I suppose. I start by creating a blueprint and a lot of thought goes into this process before I begin to sketch the idea on canvas, including putting together a scrapbook. "Once I have the composition mapped out now comes the fun part, where I can act like a big kid. Using thick impasto paint and a palette knife, I carve life and texture into the canvas. At this stage I don't have to worry about making mistakes: I like to think it's all part of the process and gives the painting some soul. It's only in the later stages of the piece that I get completely immersed in applying layers and layers of thinner paints and washes to create fine detail. Although the finished piece looks polished from a distance, beneath the surface you can still see the marks of the palette knife - like a lingering imprint of its creation."
New Castle Galleries artist Richard Blunt has a passion for music and movies, and a fondness for past eras. Stephanie Richman examines these influences on his stylish paintings, which ooze mesmerising timelessness and elegance When time stands still
my art was soon helping to pay for my music education."
Timelessness and intrigue
His lifelong passion for film and music and a love of 1930s, 40s and 50s styles and images have consistently influenced his work. Godfather-type crime dramas were a particular early inspiration, not just for their period look but also for their underlying sense of sadness and loneliness. "It was this feel that led to a series of paintings of an anonymous lone male figure, usually in a suit, overcoat and a Trilby or Fedora hat," he explained. "I love the romance of the past but I don't pin my paintings down to a particular era or location so that when people look at them, they feel the pull of places and memories that are personal to them." His approach is
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B orn in the West Midlands, Richard's passion for art and music were part and parcel of his childhood and youth. After leaving school and dropping out of a 3D design course at art college, he spent several years gigging with various bands up and down the country before returning to education – this time to university to study music where he graduated with a first class BA Hons. Whilst he was
epitomised in Beyond The Horizon , Dancing At Dawn and Take
studying, he was inspired to try oil painting and was completely captivated. So were other people. "Before I knew it," he said, "friends and family were asking if I could do portrait
Care Of The Moment , which exude
Gallery All three paintings are being released as limited editions of 95, view them in Castle Galleries nationwide or online at castlegalleries.com
commissions and ironically
FINE ART COLLECTOR SPRING 2013
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