Richard's teaching ethos

Richard has been teaching at graduate and post graduate levels for over 35 years. He is particularly experienced in releasing creativity and the imagination; enlarging drawing skills; facilitating the practice of materials; establishing an understanding of colour; developing the abstract; and inspiring fluency in the six visual languages.

My colour research started whilst trying to help students at the Slade School of Fine Art. Everything I have made since 1998 has become part of this quest. I make my own paints and inks using pure pigments. I have written a series of talks and workshops to equip students to become literate in colour. For the artist, colour is a material, an actual substance – it is physical paint. When engaging with the physicality of paint, an alchemy takes place, and we can make equivalents for emotions and memories. Colour is much more than what we see – it can also be a translation of what we feel. I have produced my own hand-crafted colour box, a teaching tool to give artists a vocabulary. This Colour Grammar gives any art student confidence to express their ideas. From this solid foundation, the student can express what is in their imagination.

Richard teaches using these three simultaneous processes:

• Structured studio instruction where students learn defined artistic concepts, the six visual languages (line, shape, space, movement, tone, and colour), material culture, and technical skills.
• Space and time for spontaneous play where students reflect and use their imagination to make work in the studio.
• Presence of staff for continuous feedback (written and verbal), enabling each student to work through their individual journey.