Richard Holland

Richard Holland has had an interest in art since primary school, and probably inherited this from his father’s artistic talents. Although missing out getting into art college from school, he started painting watercolours avidly in his early twenties. He eventually started exhibiting and selling a few of my watercolours at a gallery called Gallery 13 in the village of Epworth in Lincolnshire.

In 1999, Richard started an A level Art course at Patchings Art Centre under the instruction of Liz Wood. On achieving his A level in 2001, Liz persuaded him to join her painting with oils group and she has given him constant support ever since. Having attended her classes for many years, Richard gained the confidence to work with oil paints and Liz give him the opportunity to exhibit and demonstrate his oils on his own stand at the Patchings Festival, which he has now done for many years. This opportunity gave him many opportunities in other areas, such as writing articles for the Leisure Painter and getting the chance to attend painting critiques from a painting hero of his for many years, David Curtis.

In 2010 Richard took a leap of faith and became a professional artist after being made redundant from his teaching role at West Nottinghamshire Collage of F.E. He had been given the chance to teach community classes in painting whilst still working for the collage and this became the bases for his first classes as a professional artist.  Richard runs six classes a week, three in oils and three in watercolours, he has run these classes for the last 14 years, with many of his original students still attending the classes. Richard also travels around the country giving demonstrations and workshops to art groups and societies.

Most of Richard’s paintings from the last 15 years have been created using pen and wash sketches or oil sketches with the occasional photograph to back these up; this allows him to create studio works and group or class demos from first hand source material.

His own personal painting style is impressionistic, using loose free flowing brush marks, mark making, and vibrancy of colour, although he can feel just at home creating detailed work. Richard’s style developed from his initial classes with Liz Wood, but more so from the influences of the group of artist he paints with regularly, as well as fellow RBSA Member and great friend Carol Hills.

Richard enjoys painting a wide range of subjects, mainly in oil but also in watercolours too, with oil being his preferred medium. Due to teaching many different styles, Richard is able to develop a cross section of ideas beyond his landscape works.  Living in the Derbyshire dales means that there is no shortage of landscape ideas to work with, however lockdown resulted in painting still lifes.

As for the future, Richard intends to become a full member of the RBSA when the occasion arises and he also hopes to extend where and what he exhibits, with a new sense of confidence.