Established land & seascape painter Ric Horner focuses in his work on the elemental qualities of light, the energy of weather and the drama of the sea. He creates highly atmospheric oil paintings featuring classic Kent coast and harbour scenes, as well as the stunning sunsets seen on Whitstable beach.
He has recently set up apermanent display at the front of his house with a rolling exhibition of finished pieces. This gallery space is open on weekends from 10:30am – 5pm.
If you are visiting Whitstable, this is a wonderful opportunity to meet the artist in his studio, pick up some lovely greeting cards and view his original paintings while passing by on a scenic (circular) walk only 20min from town centre. You can combine it with stops at some of our most well-known pubs: The Old Neptune on West Beach, The Rose in Bloom in Joy Lane, (next door to Ric’s place), and The Sportsman gastro pub in Seasalter.
To arrange a visit, call 07835294317, or email enquiries@richorner.com
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Ric collaborates on site with his partner Annett, who works in a bold, expressive, semi-abstract way. In her art, she focuses mostly on their beautiful koi fish pond and wildlife garden.
Ric W. Horner is a qualified art tutor and has worked professionally for over 35 years. He has exhibited his atmospheric land and seascape paintings widely and has sold his art all over the world. He is now offering inspirational art classes at his characterful art studio set in a secluded garden on Whitstable beach.
This unique location provides the perfect setting for stunning sunsets and dramatic beach scenes.
In this course, he will work with you either in the garden, or directly on the seafront (a 3 minute walk), Whitstable Harbour and other places, where we can identify areas in which you can best improve your technical skills, abilities and confidence.
You will learn about composition, contrasts, colour tones and theory, as well as receive guidance on all the materials needed to construct a successful land, or seascape painting. Classes are kept small, so you will get lots of individual attention and ensure the highest quality experience. They are intended for beginners and intermediate painters.
Free Parking is available at the top of the hill (a 3 minute walk), however due to this very steep location, it is not suitable for wheelchairs users. During your stay you will have access to Ric’s oil painting exhibition, as well as opportunities to pick up his beautiful greeting cards and prints.
Half day (3 hours) : 10am – 1pm – £ 45
Full day (6 hours) : 10am – 5pm incl. lunch break – £ 80
Please bring packed lunch. Tea, biscuits & coffee will be available 😊Payment by cash, or card on the day.
Weare flexible in regards to days and hours. Please call: 07835294317, or email: enquiries@richorner.com to register your interest.
Ric works in a modern classical way and creates atmospheric, light-filled land and seascapes. The sublime light of his paintings is reminiscent off a style called Luminism. He takes part every year in theEast Kent Artists’ Open Houses, which was on this year from12th/13th, 19th/20th and 26th/27th October 2024.
Ric exhibited at the Fishslab Gallery in August 2024. If you have missed this show you can visit Ric in his studio were he has now set up the front of his house as permanent exhibition space. New Exhibition Space 2025!
On show were 25 original oil on canvas paintings, as well as a range of Gouache (Watercolour) studies and many cards of Whitstable, Canterbury and surrounding areas.
It is now 12 years since Ric moved into the cottage built by the eccentric painter Dan Sherrin – a small summer residency on the seafront in a secluded garden on The Saxon Shore Way, a long-distance footpath in England, which starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England for 163 miles in total. He is one in a long line of artists , writers and novelists that made the town their home, for reasons such as the gorgeous light and stunning sunsets.
Eccentric painter Dan Sherrin (1869 – 1940) was an artist that could not be missed about the town, as he insisted on wearing the most outrageously chequer plus fours and his love of beer was legendary.
Dan was also a famous self-publicist of the most humorous kind, a practical joker who not only poked fun at those in authority – he even built his own airplane and created a spoof fire brigade! One of Dan’s paintings still hangs in Buckingham Palace, as he was once commissioned by King George V.
An elderly neighbour who lived nearby, told Ric that he recalls seeing Winston Churchill plus entourage on the little foot bridge on Preston Parade viewing the newly installed gun battery, which was right in front of the house in about 1943.
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“Since moving into Dan Sherrin’s cottage, I have set up my studio at the front of the house, which overlooks the sea. This has changed my working practice profoundly, as I now have a wealth of natural beauty in front of me and I am less dependent on notes and colour sketches.”
“My paintings have much to do with the changing energy of weather; encompassing all sorts of environmental conditions, which can range massively from attractive, peaceful and scenic to threatening and dangerous.
I can now work directly on canvas while engaging with my subject and depict various sea states and light events that may have otherwise evaded me. It has become possible to study storms in greater detail and track showers and their influence on the sea in some degree of comfort. These paintings are therefore composed in my imagination based on observed realities. They are true to my inner eye. Unfortunately, despite the house’s prominence and history, time and gravity have taken their toll, leaving every floor uneven, so when I first moved in, the horizon appeared to lean when looking out from the window!”
Ric opens his studio to the public on most days throughout the year. You can now visit him and buy his original paintings, prints and greeting cards directly from him.
Ric has created many atmospheric sunset paintings of Canterbury Cathedral over the years and is now offering 9 different designs as framed prints and high-quality greeting cards. At present, there are no original oil paintings of Canterbury available, but feel free to get in touch if you are interested in a commission.
Canterbury Summer Evening, framed print, 61 x 48, but also 36 x 29cm
They are printed on 324gsm textured matt paper and come in three different formats: 22 x 15cm (A5), 15 x 15cm (square) and 21 x 9.90cm (DL long), each including a white envelope and clear, protective, bio-degradable bag.
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Canterbury is a cathedral city in the southeast of England, situated in the county of Kent. It was a pilgrimage site in the Middle Ages that was founded in 597 A.D by St Augustine. Primarily a unique place of Christian community and worship, is also the headquarters of the Church of England and Anglican Communion, a major pilgrimage destination, a masterpiece of art and architecture, and one of the UK’s most-visited historic sites.
Canterbury Cathedral after Rain, framed print, 37 x 37cm
A truly romantic city, the cathedral incorporates Gothic and Romanesque elements in its stone carvings and stained-glass windows. The rest of the whole town has ancient walls, originally built by the Romans that encircle its medieval centre with cobbled streets and timber-framed houses.
Shower Clouds over Canterbury, framed print, 35 x 28cm
In just under 1 hour’s train journey from London, Canterbury is one of the most popular tourist and holiday destinations in the world. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Cathedral sits alongside the Giza Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, and Chichen-Itza as a must-visit location of outstanding universal value to humanity.
The square painting above is called ‘Canterbury Cathedral at Sunset‘. The cards are 15 x 15cm and the print is 37 x 37cm. All of his prints are locally manufactured by Blean Picture Framing and available on his shop page.
Home to three universities, Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), University for the Creative Arts (UCA) and The University of Kent, the city is also a melting pot for creativity with vibrant nightlife and a packed calendar of cultural events for every age and every community all year round. So when in town, you can enjoy the annual Canterbury Arts Festival, or spend a day out and breath in fresh sea air in the lovely coastal town of Whitstable.
Canterbury Cathedral August Evening, framed print, 38 x 25cm
Ric’s framed prints are all hand-signed and professionally produced on high-quality Hahnemühle Albrecht Dürer artist paper. They come in four different sizes:
Approaching Storm, Canterbury (framed print) 35 x 28cmCanterbury Cathedral (evening light), mounted print, 31 x 18cm
If you want to visit Ric in one of his Open House events you can find out more about it via the link: ekoh.org.uk/whitstable .
At the moment some of his Canterbury cards are available directly from his studio, George’s Mini Market in Whitstable High Street and The Horsebridge on Whitstable beach. A selection of his cards is also available from Canterbury Tourist Information office in The Beaney House of Art and Knowledge at 18 High St, Canterbury CT1 2RA
Cathedral, Colour Sketch, mounted print, 33 x 25cm
If you are a retailer in the Kentish region, have a look at our image range below and get in touch if you are interested in stocking any of these designs. You can also email us at: enquiries@richorner.com for an order form and a catalogue.
Ric works in a modern classical way and creates atmospheric, light-filled land and seascapes. The sublime light of his paintings is reminiscent off a style called Luminism. He takes part every year in theEast Kent Artists’ Open Houses,
Ric has exhibited his extraordinarily atmospheric British land & seascapes last August in Harbour Street, Whitstable. For interest in any of the remaining pieces visit the page Available Paintings, or contact him at tel. 07835294317/ enquiries@richorner.com.
Award winning artist Ric W. Horner is one of the county’s leading landscape painters whose professional career spans more than 30 years. His work focuses on the elemental qualities of open space, the energy of weather and the expressive qualities of light. https://ekoh.org.uk/whitstable
He has opened his studio to the public on various occasions over the past 11 years to connect with clients and collectors in a more personal way. For visits outside this open days contact him on Tel: 07835294317, or: enquiries@richorner.com
“…His mastery of sky, light and colour is breath taking!”
“Wow! My kind of art. Absolutely stunning. Love it!! Xx“
“After seeing his work for the first time it completely changed the way I saw colour in nature, but especially the sky and dark clouds. This incredible oil on canvas captures a moment where the beautiful light and detail pulls you in, so you too are involved and immortalised in the moment.”
“Ric Horner is second to none when it comes to capturing light on the landscape.” – “Your art brings tears to my eyes! – Outstanding! – Amazing – Stunning – Incredible! – Magnificent – Brilliant – Spectacular – Breath-taking – Superb – Magical – Impressive – Wonderful – Uplifting – Really Moving – Poetic, beautiful, bold and absolutely marvellous! – I love your work!”
Ric has painted Salcombe several times between 2017 and 2018 and has recently produced a wide range of themed greeting cards that cover the region, as well as the South Devon coast.
Salcombe dusk
Salcombe is known for its outstanding views, rolling surrounding countryside, breath-taking natural beauty, sparkling turquoise waters and rugged cliffs. Once a major port for the fruit trade, it has now found fame as a safe haven for family holidays. The Salcombe Town Regatta takes place every year for one week in late July/early August.
The UK coastline is one of the most beautiful in Europe and has a huge number of sailing towns that range from rocky and scenic to stylish and dramatic. It’s destinations are known to, and admired by many visitors from around the world. You just can’t beat the rugged cliffs and lush green landscape of England, which is unofficially the ‘home of sailing’ and it has a long and glorious tradition of boat building and for rearing fine sailors. Salcombe on the South Devon coast is particular scenic with lovely spots for sailing traditional boats and classic yachts.
Some of the large, stormy paintings that were on show in Salcombe are still available. Please view the front page for more details. If you are a retailer and interested in stocking some of Ric’s cards, get in touch. Alternatively, you can view the link richorner.com/cards to see he whole range of cards on offer.
Salcombe Harbour, 26 x 26cm, oil on canvas – available
After graduating from Exeter College of Art in 1989, Ric Horner spent the first two years of his career living and working on Dartmoor in Devon, developing a unique and profound engagement with light, mood and distance. Consequently he produced two solo shows; one at Marloes gallery in London in 1989 and one at Exeter College in 1990.
Twenty-six years later, in 2016, Ric had the opportunity to put together yet another stunning exhibition on the subject, this time at Green Hill Arts in Moretonhampstead on Dartmoor National Park. Thanks to his longstanding friend, supporter and art collector, historian and internationally acclaimed author Dr Ian Mortimer, Ric was able to showcase a selection of over 40 original oil on canvas paintings in the town’s dedicated art space.
Dr Ian Mortimer said about this exhibition in his introduction:
“Ric Horner is one of the country’s leading landscape painters. I have no doubt that, in due course, he will be recognised as one of the most significant landscape artists of our time. Ric’s dedication is astounding; his integrity no less so. For me it has been a privilege and an honour to be so closely involved with this exhibition, and to have been able to buy a number of his paintings over the years. “
The “Dartmoor: Theatre of Light” exhibition (10th September to 29th October 2016) at Green Hill Arts in Moretonhampstead was very well received and sold well for the gallery.
This year, Ric has returned to the subject and has produced 26 different greeting card designs taken from this solo exhibition, as well as from other Devonshire areas.
He will also make the square card designs available as framed ready-to-hang prints, like the ones below.
So look out for them!
With over 150,000 visitors a year traveling to Dartmoor National Park, there can be no question that Dartmoor and it’s landscape has attracted artists, as well as tourists for centuries and helped fire their imagination.
He is currently selling some of these cards via MAKE Southeast in Bovey Tracey and the Moretonhampstead Visitors’ Information Centre.
From the thick mists that suddenly appear and roll across the moor to the dark, bottomless mires and the craggy granite tors, each lends an air of mystery and magic, all ripe for associated legends and tales.
In this exhibition, you will find yourself on a road at night having just seen the first welcoming streetlight of the village: you will soon be home and warm. The sun has gone down behind Laughter Tor leaving a few drifting clouds and vapour trails in the deep blue sky: the seemingly eternal rocky outcrop is juxtaposed with the ephemeral vestiges of the day. But the most striking feature of these Dartmoor paintings is the light. Often the painting is not actually about the hill, rock or any other object in the distance; it is about the space between you and that object. It is a portrait of the light, a place where skies brood, threaten, delight, obscure with mist, groan with rain or brighten with a ray of optimism.”
“A stunning exhibition of the highest calibre!”
“Poetic, beautiful, bold and absolutely marvellous!”
“They are sublime. So magical and true to the atmosphere”
“Ric Horner’s work is superb – truly spectacular!”
“Breathtaking views and big skies! Fabulous.”
“Wow! “I absolutely love your work; such stunning paintings. The most amazing sky and little houses shining like jewels. What an uplifting exhibition!”
“We recently saw your Theatre of Light exhibition in Moretonhampstead and were both really moved by it. I just wanted to let you know how delighted I am to have been able to purchase one of your pictures. I bought your picture of Scorhill (image below). It’s always been a favourite place of mine on the Moor and your picture captures it so vividly.“
Ric in his studio in summer 2016 preparing for the show.
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Below: Friends Ian Mortimer and Ric Horner on field trip to ‘The Strangles’ in September 2014, where the idea of the ‘Theatre of Light ‘ exhibition was first perceived.
Ric is available for commissions. Please contact him at: enquiries@richorner.com, if you fancy your own favourite views painted.
In April 2024 Ric completed a large scale panorama picturing the view as you walk across the pebble bed heaths around Joney’s Cross near Sidmouth, a high point that is looking towards the coast in East Devon.
and in December 2024, he has also produced another commission of Scorhill Stone circle.
Ric was represented by the White Wood Gallery in Ashburton, Dartmoor from November 2016 until February 2018. This arrangement has now come to an end.
Lovely feedback was received from previous buyers:
Dear Mr Horner, as a 50th Wedding Anniversary present to ourselves we purchased from the White Wood Gallery in Ashburton your oil painting entitled “Approaching Rain near Princetown, Dartmoor” (see above). My wife and I have known, loved and frequently visited Dartmoor since we were both young and we felt your painting captures the atmosphere of the Moor very well. We are generally more familiar with the eastern side of the Moor – i.e. Chagford/ Haytor/Hound Tor – and not so familiar with the area around Princetown. We wondered if you were able to give some more detail of the location from which your painting was taken?
Between 2015 – 2022 Ric was represented by Gallery Jessica Dove in lfracombe, North Devon. Sadly, this gallery is no longer open.
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This little gouache painting called ‘Yorkshire Landscape’ was purchased by Michael Gallagher – Head of Conservation at the MET – Museum of Modern Art in New York, while on display at Jessica’s gallery.
The Lewes Bonfire Night is the biggest celebrated Fifth November Event in the world, and is held in the usually peaceful county town of Lewes, East Sussex, every year on 5th November, and the carnival or festival is known as either the Lewes Bonfire Night Celebrations, Lewes Bonfire Night or just simply the Fifth.
Lewes Bonfire, or Bonfire for short, describes a set of celebrations held in the town of Lewes, Sussex, England, that constitute the United Kingdom’s largest and most famous Bonfire Night festivities, with Lewes being called the bonfire capital of the world. The event not only marks Guy Fawkes Night – the date of the uncovering of the Gunpowder Plot in 1605 – but also commemorates the memory of the seventeen Protestant martyrs from the town burned at the stake for their faith during the Marian Persecutions.
Ric created a solo exhibition at the award winning ‘The Sportsman’ in Seasalter back in 2015 featuring the inspiring scenery of the Thames estuary. This famous Michelin star pub is located 2 miles out of Whitstable, on the North Kent coast and is popular with weekend visitors and many Londoners. It is nicely furbished with rolling exhibitions showcasing the work of local artists.
In the same year as the British Museum put on a blockbuster exhibition called ‘Life and death in Pompeii and Herculaneum’, 2013 (www.britishmuseum.org/pompeii-live) Ric also created a solo show on the subject of the ancient Roman city Pompeii, hoping to transport people back to AD 79 to discover how life was transformed in just 24 hours, when the two cities in the Bay of Naples, southern Italy, were buried by a catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Hoping to recreate how it looks now, and how it may well have looked during and after the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius he said:
“Pompeii is paradoxical, the city was once the site of a tremendous environmental catastrophe, but now all is serene and in a state of artful decay. Ironically, its preservation was due to its destruction -had it not been buried by the layers of ash, it would not be here today. In this particular series I tried to convey these unique qualities. When creating the work, I found that I had tapped into a similar colour palette to the one artists used when painting frescos in and around the city before the eruption. This may not have been a coincidence and may be linked to the strong Italian sunlight and its location near the Bay of Naples.”
The old Canterbury and Whitstable Railway was sometimes also colloquially referred to as the Crab and Winkle Line – which opened in 1830 was the cutting edge of technology at the time. The Industrial Revolution was happening and all the famous engineers of the time were connected to it.
The photograph he has worked from features a steam train – the Invicta – a locomotive which pulled passengers out of Whitstable on its way to Canterbury in 1952. Today the route is a designated footpath and cycle track.
Ric lived at 1-18 Reeves Yard Whitstable from 2002-13 and revamped this old industrial studio in 2012 in order to re-opened it to the public with a rolling exhibition of finished pieces..
Press Release for his latest Open Day on Saturday, 4th May 2013 …..“With the spring weather still evasive, Kent’s finest artist brings sunshine to your home all year round. Ric W. Horner is opening his gallery doors on Saturday, 4th May to present his own, personal colours of the rainbow. He captures moments and places like no camera can. The vividness and energy of his seascapes instantly transport the viewer to the coast on a glorious Summer day complete with breathtaking sunsets – with his passion and love evident in every single piece. “
It is now 10 years since the Horsebridge Centre (Home :: The Horsebridge) was build on the site of Johnny’s Arthouse. The new space is unlike any other building in Kent with it’s design based on an upturned boat and is soon stocking Ric’s greetings cards of Whitstable and surrounding.
Salcombe Harbour, 26 x 26cm, oil on canvas – available
Ric was one of the first artists to be represented at this gallery in 1999.
