Richard Bawden NEAC RE RWS is attracted by atmosphere, oddity and pattern which he finds all around him.

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Artist Statement

Richard  is a painter and printmaker. He is also a designer, whose work includes book illustration, posters, murals, mosaics, textiles, engraved glass, furniture and cast iron seats (for which he cut the patterns himself). His paintings are drawn from life, and as a printmaker he works predominantly in etching and lino. He is attracted by atmosphere, oddity, pattern and the strangely austere, which he finds in the world around him. Richard lives in Suffolk, and is frequently drawn to the Suffolk Coast to paint and to create prints.

 

Method of Working

All Richard’s work starts with drawing: quickly in a sketchbook, a carefully considered watercolour, an imaginative design for a print or often ‘just a scribble’ of a cat. His method of working is not always a logical sequence to realize an idea from within his imagination: much time is spent thinking through how to capture the spirit of the work he is creating. For painting, he usually draws a grey line with a dip pen, over which he lays colour; always paying attention to detail whether it is architectural, boats, plants or an interior. His linocuts are very disciplined with everything worked out before he takes up his Stanley knife to start cutting. Etching is complex; a freely drawn line, aquatint and deeply bitten areas on the plate, creating atmosphere with contrasts and texture. When printing he mixes all his own inks from jars of coloured pigment.