“To see, we must forget the name of the things we are looking at.”

Claude Monet

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What does it mean to see? What does it mean to perceive? The stillness we find in contemplation of a simple object – an apple, a bowl – brings us closer to the true nature of things.  

 

As an artist I am fascinated by the power of stillness, the peace inside a room or within a landscape, where we can find transcendental moments of reflection within a fast-past world dictated by technology. Can a painting capture an object? Or does it capture, in a swirl of oil paint on canvas, an instant of time lived through? 

 

Indeed, everyday objects – fruit, flowers, crockery – far from being mundane, have a subtle, egalitarian presence, accessible to everyone, without demanding any previous knowledge on the part of the viewer.

 

My journey into painting started six years ago, after working with Cambridge-based landscape painter David Wood. I am currently a student of the realist painter Paul Foxton, who, with his focus on still life and the Munsell system, has transformed my approach to painting. 

 

I am drawn to the French and Spanish Impressionists, the loose mastery of John Singer Sargent, the expressive realism of contemporary American landscape painters, and the drawings of Classical masters. For me, technical knowledge is the foundation of self-expression, in the sense that an understanding of light, form, composition, and colour can allow an artist to achieve a level of aesthetic beauty that feels spontaneous.  

 

I believe the artist’s role is to make the familiar new, by helping us to see the world through fresh eyes. As I continue to add to this website, I hope these paintings and drawings offer a small window through which to contemplate the beauty and uniqueness of everyday things and places.   

     

James Richards