About Richard Blackmore

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My first job was as a cartographic illustrator at the Geography Department of Cambridge University, where I got used to working in pen and ink. I soon decided on a career in teaching and qualified as a primary teacher. After a couple of posts in Essex I became headteacher at Bishops Nympton in rural North Devon, a job I continued until retirement in 2011.

 

I have always had a great interest in places,  towns and cities  as well countryside, but it is the wilder spots which appeal to me most. I have been drawing and painting most of my life. In the late 70s I produced a book of pen and ink drawings "Dartmoor Illustrations" and followed this up after moving to Devon with "Exmoor Rivers". Meanwhile I continued to paint, inspired by a desire to capture the ever-changing landscapes enjoyed both locally as well as on travels in Britain and abroad. My work has been informed by a large and eclectic selection of books by other artists (Trevor Chamberlain, David Bellamy, Ray Balkwill, Lionell Aggett and Rowland Hilder to name a very few). I try to keep freshness and variety in my style, partly by painting in most of the main mediums,  thinking which will best suit the subject under consideration. Having said that watercolour does tend to dominate my output.

 

Not surprisingly, since retirement I have been able to devote more time to painting, building up a large body of work. I usually organise two or three exhibitions of my work in a year, as well as taking commissions and selling on demand from home.