Ric has recently exhibited his extraordinarily atmospheric British land & seascapes, as well as gorgeous prints and greeting cards in Harbour Street, Whitstable. The show was on from 4th – 10th August 2023. For interest in any of the remaining pieces visit the front page, or contact him at tel. 07835294317/ enquiries@richorner.com.
His next exhibition is from 14th -29th October 2023 –at the East Kent Artists Open Studios https://ekoh.org.uk/whitstable
Ric’s town nearest to his hometown, Margate, has also grown to be quite an artistic hub for Kent. Ever since the opening of the Turner Contemporary Art Gallery in 2011, The Old Town has grown increasingly trendy and attracted a rise of down-from-Londoners moving to the area, as well as Tracy Emin opening her studio there recently.
The award-winning Margate Main Sands is a must-visit if you want to experience the famed English seaside. For centuries, it’s drawn in visitors with its golden sandy bay and shallow tidal pool. As one of England’s first grand seaside resorts, Margate continues to live up to its reputation as the go-to for summer holidays, with its charming old town coastal architecture, blend of colourful history, rich cultural traditions, and breath-taking coves and coasts.
The Old Town is an excellent place to start your adventure in Margate. Located adjacent to the harbour, it’s often buzzing with daily activities of locals and tourists alike. There’s a variety of art galleries like the Turner Contemporary, one of the UK’s best contemporary art galleries who is celebrating Margate’s connection with the painter J. M. W. Turner, an artist who believed that art could be an agent of change.
Turner Contemporary is an internationally-renowned Gallery showing contemporary and historical art. In a striking building designed by award-winning architect Sir David Chipperfield, Turner Contemporary presents a rolling programme of temporary exhibitions, events and learning opportunities.
With stunning views over Margate Sands, the Gallery has exhibited the work of countless international artists, including Turner Prize nominees and winners Antony Gormley, Tracey Emin, Jeremy Deller, Grayson Perry, Yinka Shonibare, and Paula Rego.
Some of the outdoor activities, nature parks and beaches in Thanet are utterly spectacular, like Ramsgate Harbour, the marvellous chalk stacks of Kingsgate Bay on the Isle of Thanet, near Margate, or Botany Bay in Broadstairs which is facing the north sea.
Botany Bay is the northernmost of seven bays in Broadstairs. It features chalk cliffs and a sea stack and is a popular tourist location.
Ric is hoping to showcase a range of these greeting cards and prints that are based on his trademark ‘Contemporary J. M. W. Turner-style’ paintings in the region of Kent. If you are a retailer, get in touch at enquiries@richorner.com, or tel. 07835294317. Many thanks.
Ric has produced a wide range of greeting cards of Whitstable seascapes recently that were selected from various paintings from his back catalogue of images. They will be available via local galleries, shops and exhibitions, or directly from the artist’s studio.
It has been attracting visitors for centuries with its charm, beautiful scenery and cosy atmosphere. The coast is lined with multi-coloured beach huts and the smell of the salty sea breeze and the feel of the summer warmth is tangible. It has long been famous for its oysters, which still play a central role in it’s commerce and culture. Whitstable has recently been named among one of the best seaside towns to visit in the UK, coming third in place with an impressive rating of 87/100.
Whitstable is a quintessentially English seaside town in the Canterbury district, on the north coast of Kent adjoining the convergence of the Swale Estuary and the Greater Thames Estuary in south-eastern England, five miles north of Canterbury and two miles west of Herne Bay.
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.”
Another exhibition of Pompeii that is currently running is at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. This show is on until September 2023. (msichicago.org/pompeii)
