Ruth's Art
For both her pencil drawings and colour/mixed
media paintings, Ruth works from a variety of subjects from nature - shells,
fossils, leaves, insects, birds, trees, water and so on. From time to time she
will go out and about, sketching directly from whatever interests her, be it a
close-up of plants and flowers, or a local scene she wishes to blend into her
art. She makes collections as well - leaves, bark, pine cones, insects, etc -
which help her to execute the finer details of her work once she is back in the
studio. She also takes many of her own photographs, once again opting for
themes from the Test Valley countryside around her. With difficult subjects
that she is unable to photograph herself, she will pool together an assortment
of photographic material from other sources. This material provides the backup
to Ruth's original inspiration and ideas and generally is only used with
considerable adaptations to her own style and own specific usage.
All these methods of selecting and recording information are usually only starting points. Much of the time Ruth will painstakingly combine and rework the sources to get them precisely how she wants them for the final piece, always allowing for any new developments along the way. Sometimes she will create a pattern-like repetition of the subject, exploring textures, shapes and colours to the full, occasionally bordering on the abstract. At other times, she will retain the realism and natural setting of the subject whilst adding an imaginative or humorous twist of her own. Always, she never compromises on detail and strives towards a sense of balance and harmony throughout the compositions.
With her pencil drawings, Ruth enjoys zooming in to what she sees as the exquisite detail in often everyday subjects from nature. With the use of fine pencil work she explores the minutiae of shapes and contours, textures and tonal ranges, highlighting the graphic qualities. She often transforms the material into her own stylised way of working, resulting in strong elements of pattern and design. Many of the drawings she sees as pencil tapestries, mosaics, webs, labyrinths, intricacies, some of which are reflected in the titles.
In her colour work, Ruth uses combinations of wax, ink, pastel, watercolour, texture paste, metallic crayons and pencil to obtain effects of depth and layering, surface and structure. She enjoys the random nature of free flowing watercolour, sprayed ink, pitching wax against watercolour, and emphasising dark and light contrasts with the use of her chosen media.
All these methods of selecting and recording information are usually only starting points. Much of the time Ruth will painstakingly combine and rework the sources to get them precisely how she wants them for the final piece, always allowing for any new developments along the way. Sometimes she will create a pattern-like repetition of the subject, exploring textures, shapes and colours to the full, occasionally bordering on the abstract. At other times, she will retain the realism and natural setting of the subject whilst adding an imaginative or humorous twist of her own. Always, she never compromises on detail and strives towards a sense of balance and harmony throughout the compositions.
With her pencil drawings, Ruth enjoys zooming in to what she sees as the exquisite detail in often everyday subjects from nature. With the use of fine pencil work she explores the minutiae of shapes and contours, textures and tonal ranges, highlighting the graphic qualities. She often transforms the material into her own stylised way of working, resulting in strong elements of pattern and design. Many of the drawings she sees as pencil tapestries, mosaics, webs, labyrinths, intricacies, some of which are reflected in the titles.
In her colour work, Ruth uses combinations of wax, ink, pastel, watercolour, texture paste, metallic crayons and pencil to obtain effects of depth and layering, surface and structure. She enjoys the random nature of free flowing watercolour, sprayed ink, pitching wax against watercolour, and emphasising dark and light contrasts with the use of her chosen media.
About the prints
Ruth has giclee prints made from selected
pieces of work in both pencil and colour/mixed media. These are available in
open and limited editions. Many of the colour prints are individually
hand-embellished by the artist, giving each print a unique quality.
All prints have been reproduced from the original artwork. They are printed on German Etching mould-made paper 310gsm, specially coated to obtain optimum image sharpness and colour gradation.
Giclee printing is a high quality digital method of fine art reproduction and uses only pigment inks. Like most original artworks,these prints will retain their image quality under normal hanging conditions, i.e. other than exposure to direct sunlight. The prints are produced by a giclee approved print member of the Fine Art Trade Guild.
All prints have been reproduced from the original artwork. They are printed on German Etching mould-made paper 310gsm, specially coated to obtain optimum image sharpness and colour gradation.
Giclee printing is a high quality digital method of fine art reproduction and uses only pigment inks. Like most original artworks,these prints will retain their image quality under normal hanging conditions, i.e. other than exposure to direct sunlight. The prints are produced by a giclee approved print member of the Fine Art Trade Guild.