Deborah Walker RI RSMA

Statement

Deborah has always regarded drawing as the seminal process from which all art forms grow. Drawing as mark making is an intrinsic part of being human; everybody does it but developing a language of drawing and painting that can express feelings and emotional responses has always been her aim. Deborah's paintings are concerned with landscape, both in broad expanse and in close up detail and express both the dramatic and subtle ways in which light transforms a subject. A recurring theme in my work is the depiction of water, as it provides a consistent challenge. Her approach to watercolour embraces both representational and abstract elements, and she tries to push the character of the paint to extremes.

Methodology

After site visits, numerous sketches, colour notes and photographs for reference, Deborah works in her studio on heavy weight rag paper in pure watercolour – the bigger the better!

Bio

I currently live in Barton under Needwood and paint from my studio gallery, ‘the gallery @ Ridware Arts’, Hamstall Ridware, in the heart of rural Staffordshire on the banks of the River Blythe.

1985 - First Class Honours Degree in Fine Art, De Montfort University

2002 - Founded ‘Ridware Arts’, studios and workshops for classes, workshops, talks and demonstrations         

            Elected Fellow to the Royal Society of Arts

2006 - Elected Member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists     

2008 - Elected Chair of Staffordshire Open Studios   

2008 - Opened ‘the gallery @ Ridware Arts’

2011 - Elected a member of the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours         

2014 - Elected to RI Council , RI Steward for the Artists' General Benevolent Institution 2015 - Founded Friends of the RI

2018 - Elected a member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists

           RI Website Editor

Memberships

• Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts 2002
• Royal Birmingham Society of Artists 2006