Richard Young's Online Portfolio

I am a British national, born in Yorkshire in 1961, and now based in North Devon, UK where I have my office and studio.

Though I have always had a flair for pencil and chalk drawing, I began oil painting at the age of 12, studied hard, developed a talent and practiced in every spare moment, enjoying early regional competition success and media publicity for my work in the North of England. Fortunately, my tutors recognized my skill and encouraged me to undertake both my Ordinary and Advanced level art exams a few years earlier than my peers, which I passed with the top grades. Being financially driven at that time, in 1983 I graduated in engineering and with a passion to travel, I initially pursued a career as a design consultant with various International architectural companies, residing primarily in the Middle East. Nevertheless, an artisan at heart, I returned to Commercial Art several years ago as a semi professional freelance artist, and have extensively developed artistry through exhaustive self tuition, galleries, magazine publications, numerous shows & exhibitions and 'burning' the midnight oil in my efforts to master my craft, create the odd classic and maybe one day a masterpiece. Who knows...

The style of my artwork is modern, yet classical / traditional and occasionally contemporary. The composition and technique I use is influenced and inspired by the realism and romanticism of my favourite post renaissance Masters and their wonderful, timeless masterpieces. Especially Bouguereau... Predominantly figurative, the tendency of my artwork is towards carefully composed anonymity, capturing the emotions and self belief of the subject, rather than characteristic individual representation. The creation of figurative artwork not only depicts the emotions of the artist, it transforms the artist's emotions. Also, it is far easier for all of us to carefully scrutinize figurative artwork and judge its anatomical accuracy, often creating a more personal understanding of specific favourite pieces. My figurative artwork, including portraits and nudes, are sensual and sometimes tastefully erotic. My ballerinas and dancers are passionate, moody and emotional. My preferred lighting, shading and contrast are dramatic. I simply adore light and am fascinated with its arguably undue influence on any subject. After all, without light, what is art? Unlike the vast majority of past and current artists, I delve extensively between the extremes of highlights and lowlights in my artwork in a chiaroscuro technique, occasionally minimalist, often leaving the viewer's mind to complete the picture and to add depth. I always strive to create an atmosphere in whatever I produce, at the highest possible quality and using a knife, brush, canvas and a very limited colour palette of oil paint or pastels, usually alla prima, mixing and blending only on the canvas!

I personally invite all art lovers of the purest form, whether you're an established or prospective client, a corporate buyer, an individual seeking knowledge, or you're simply interested in discovering more about my exclusive artwork, to come into my world, enjoy my finest works, and find out more.

Whether you're a collector, you appreciate the creativity and value of fine art, or you're simply an admirer of skilful and talented visual arts, purchasing, owning and living with an original artistic creation is an exciting and extremely personal experience, be it a figure study, ballerina, dancer, nude, a portrait, or any other form of painting or print. It is also both satisfying and fulfilling, a way of seeing the world differently, seeing yourself differently, opening and challenging your thoughts to a different perspective and wider dimension, arousing your senses and stimulating your mind, let alone uniquely transforming an area of your home to one that you can truly be proud of. Art should be viewed, pondered, admired, exhibited, proudly displayed, carefully scrutinized, and in order to benefit to the fullest extent possible, it should be understood from the perspective of its creator - the professional artist. This is obviously not always quite as simple as it seems, though if a viewer has similar feelings to me about art, he or she will connect with my artwork and better understand me. Art is a thing of beauty, not just an investment. Galleries that display my artwork, and exhibitions, should hopefully be a friendly and enjoyable place to look at some of my artwork, irrespective of whether you are interested in purchasing a piece.