7  THE ART OBSERVER Richard Clare The Colourist Richard Clare is an artist who has been gathering quite a following over the last few years. With his fabulous sense of colour and depiction of rural north west England and Tuscany, he has captured the imagination of a very large audience. Latterly he has enjoyed painting local urban scenes with the same bold, energetic brushstrokes for which he has become well-known. Richard’s emotional and immedi- ate response to the landscape manifests itself in what appears to be wild and aggressive paintings. In fact, there is a technical competence in their execution that can only be achieved by a confident and deliberate hand. RICHARD’S COLOUR BLINDNESS BECOMES AN ADVANTAGE RATHER THAN AN IMPEDIMENT Inspiration for Richard comes from his beloved rural landscapes in Lancashire,Yorkshire, the Peak District and the Lake District. A fervent walker, he wanders around his local environment either using a sketchbook to record quick drawings of what he sees, or committing the scenes to his memory. Back in his studio, he will work quite quickly to recreate, onto board or canvas, the images he has seen. He often paints with painting knives, in oils and acrylics, to create transparent watercolour effects and heavy impasto marks Surprisingly, Richard is colour blind. This seems incredible for someone who uses colour so confidently. More concerned with capturing the spirit of the scene than an accurate depiction, Richard’s colour blindness becomes an advantage rather than an impediment. Using a thick application of gorgeous, luscious paint, purples, blues, greens, oranges and reds dominate the canvas giving a vibrant impression of the landscape. “Many people collect my work because they love the colours and it cheers them up. They look at my paintings everyday and still find something new” says Richard. Over the past couple of years, Richard has been attracted by the landscapes in northern Tuscany and has recently bought a house there so that he can spend time really understanding the local area. The medieval, hilltop town of Barga is his base and the house, over 500 years old and originally an artist’s studio, will provide him with the opportunity to use his renovation skills as there’s plenty of work to do there. The town has an historic association and relationship with Scotland and is described by Richard as the most Scottish town in Italy. During the summer this year, Richard was able to really concentrate on his painting and produced more than twenty Italian landscapes. A very exciting opportunity has arisen for him in Italy as a local estate agent is opening an art gallery this winter and the first show will be of Richard’s Tuscan paintings. Another recent exciting develop- ment for Richard has been his involvement in an art exchange project held between Liguria, in Italy, and North Yorkshire. This touring exhibition, started during the summer in La Spezia, Italy and featured Richard’s paintings of the North Yorkshire country- side and Liguria. The exhibition will come across to Scarborough Art Gallery in January and Castle Howard in March 2006. Earlier this year, during April, Richard Clare enjoyed a very successful solo exhibition at the Wendy Levy Gallery in Didsbury. Urban Splash of Colour This was Richard’s second solo show with this gallery and he is proving to be one of its most popular artists. Another solo show is planned at this venue during October 2006. More recently, Richard was strongly represented by the Wendy Levy Gallery at the Manchester Art Show during October. His work, rich and vibrant, transmitted a vitality to the show. Richard’s paintings are included in many private collections throughout Britain and more recently in France, Italy, Spain and China. Narrowboats, Castlefield Barn, Derbyshire Drama in the Hills Riana Church, Northern Tuscany Richard painting in Tuscany December 2005