Sudbury artist inspired by power of flowers
IF Christopher Ryland had listened to his tutor at art school he might now be the one pickling sharks and earning millions.
He was at prestigious Goldsmiths College in the 1970s – a decade before fellow graduate Damien Hirst arrived on the scene. But despite efforts by his tutor to steer students down the path of conceptual art it was another ten years before the movement really caught on.
Even then, it was unlikely to have worked with Christopher. His love of painting was probably too strong to be diverted by a tankful of formaldehyde. Beautiful, intricate watercolours, awash with glorious colour, usually with flowers as the central theme, are what he does best.
"I have always loved painting – producing images on a flat surface using your perceptive and creative abilities to recreate what you see around you," said Christopher, of Gainsborough Street, Sudbury.
It's not that he's against installations, performance art – the kind of work where the idea is more important than the execution.
"When I was at Goldsmiths they were trying to persuade everyone to do conceptual art. I did try, but it was not for me. It wasn't until ten years later that it really got going.
"There are some very fine exponents. But what does annoy me is people in the art world who have decided these forms of art are fashionable and others which are traditional should be ignored and condemned. It think that's appalling."
Christopher, a member of the Society of Botanical Artists, has been a professional painter since leaving college. But his work has changed a lot since then.
He remembers exactly when flowers first captivated him and altered the way he worked.
"I used to paint murals, very large scale, up scaffolding. But then in around 1980 my wife Pam and I went to stay with friends in Yorkshire.
"There was this incredible rosebay willow herb everywhere. I cut one, put it in a milk bottle and painted it, and it went from there."
Now his inspiration can be roses, tulips, foxgloves, hollyhocks, any growing thing. "The sheer physical presence of them, it's beyond beauty, and that gets to me so strongly," he said.
It's not just perfect blooms either. The whole cycle of their life fascinates him, birth, maturity, decay, and he points out that – vastly different though it is – this is also a feature of Damien Hirst's work.
"It's all about mortality."
One of his latest projects is a series of pastels done on the spot on the Sudbury Valley Walk where trees link overhead to form a cool green tunnel.
Even closer to home, Pam's love of gardening ensures there is no shortage of subjects just a few feet from his studio window. Neighbours' gardens are another rich source.
The couple have lived in Sudbury for almost 15 years. Christopher says the first time he saw the town he knew he had to live there. Scenes from around the town and its celebrated water meadows often feature in his paintings.
Teaching has always been an important part of his career and he runs a wide variety of courses from his home.
New this year are classes on street scenes, mixed media, and expressive watercolour, which he insists is not such a daunting medium as people often think.
“It’s a question of knowing how to do it. Learning to paint is rather like learning another language,” he said.
l Paintings by Christopher Ryland are on show at the John Russell Gallery, Wherry Lane, Ipswich, until Saturday, October 18 from 9.30am to 5pm. To contact him about courses phone 01787 881224, or email christo pherryland@btinternet.com.
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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