2   THE ART OBSERVER Inside this issue 2/3 La dolce vita in Tuscany 4 Update on Liam Spencer 5 Ian’s first solo success European Union creates bureaucracy over Artist’s resale right 6 The Artist Sheila Meeks Patricia’s Raison-d’être 7 New Book on Women Artists The Plinth at the Royal Academy Knutsford Exhibitions Ltd 8 Profile of an Art Collector Bob the Builder 9 Artist, Lynton Hemsley talks about his work 10/11  Lisa De Prudhoe brings the hot tropics to England 12 From Gynaecology to Art Stacey Manton explores the streets of Manchester and San Francisco 13 Phil Harding on a personal journey of self-discovery The fantasy world of John Hamilton 14 Student Degree Show Derek Bradbury’s Love of the Landscape 15 Culture & Whats On Page This Issue’s Feature It was by pure chance that they came across Barga. Julie, Richard’s partner, typed TUSCANY ART into the Google search engine and the first website link that came up was www.barganews.com, which they found later is produced by an English artist who has lived in Barga for over 20 years. Discovering that the town was a melting pot of creativity with many artists and writers making it their home, including the distinguished Scottish artist John Belany RA, they decided to go here on holiday four years ago. Barga worked its magical charm and within two weeks they had even bought a holiday home! Barga, nicknamed the most Scottish Town in Italy, hosts many music events over the summer, many musicians coming from all over the world for a Jazz and Opera festival. There is even a Fish and Chip Festival in honour of those Italians who moved to Glasgow at the turn of the century to set up their family fish and chip shops. Fortunately deep fried Mars bars are not on the menu! Over the last 8 years Richard has quietly been gaining a consider- able reputation for his colourful interpretation of the Northern landscape of England and North Tuscany, and more recently his urban Manchester scenes with not a grey cloud in sight! Many people are amazed to hear that Richard is colourblind, but he uses colour with such bravado, and even though he paints grass orange and skies vivid purple his paintings ‘look right’ and not contrived. Working from sketches or memory, he paints very quickly with a limited colour palette to achieve pictures full of emotion and life. Like Liam Spencer, Richard’s working method is to paint most of the picture in one painting session which can last between 1/2 hour to several hours. The painting is then left in the studio or taken home, reflected on for several days and then final adjustments made. “Some artists take many photographs and sketches and then produce colour sketches so they know exactly how the finished painting will look. But I prefer to spend time in the landscape sketching, soaking up the atmosphere and then going straight into painting, sometimes not knowing how the painting will eventually look. I want to transfer that same excitement I had when I sketched the scene out in the landscape, to the finished painting” says Richard. Over the years, he has been featured in many magazines, notably Cheshire Life, Lancashire Life, Peak District Life and Living Edge Magazine. In 2001 he was a prizewinner in the prestigious Laing National Landscape and Seascape competition. His latest success came earlier this year when he was a Landscape Finalist in International Artist Magazine, La dolce vita in Tuscany Continued from Front Page THE  ART OBSERVER Editor Features Wendy levy Sarah Crane, Dave Croft, Jennie Keegan Contributors Nadège Guilera, Jack Levy Published by Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art Ltd 17 Warburton Street, Didsbury, Manchester M20 6WA Tel/Fax 0161 446 4880 Email: wendy@wendyjlevy-art.com www.wendyjlevy-art.com Printed by Messenger Group Design and Artwork by Richard Clare © Wendy J Levy Contemporary Art Ltd THE  ART OBSERVER WELCOME to the second issue of The Art Observer, Issue no.3 will be published in December.We hope you find it of interest and would welcome your feedback by contacting: news@wendyjlevy-art.com July 2006 Evening Light near Barga The Fortress Vagli di Sopra Sunrise over the Apuane Alps, bought by an American collector