Ronald Gibbings-Johns.
I was born in 1956 which meant growing up without computers. Even the television did not enter our home for a good many years. The main forms of entertainment for us children as with most kids of that time were board games and books. It was within the pages of such books that I first saw coloured illustrations which stirred in me an appreciation for art.
Over the years I have focused my attention on oil paint as my preferred medium. I do enjoy watercolour and acrylics, but I always come back to oil on canvas. My subject matter varies from still life to portraiture and landscapes, but in the main I have concentrated on still life work.
Like so many professional artists, I have come to realise that there is no boundary to the variety of works that can come from the end of a brush. Many of the still life paintings displayed on this website have come from the Bugle Ranges studio, situated in what is broadly referred to as the Adelaide Hills, truly a beautiful part of the globe!
It is a wonderful studio space that allows me to set up for small works as well as quite large pieces, and more importantly, I have large southern windows that give me a flood of light that remains consistent in direction all day.
When it comes to the subject matter and items captured, I have enjoyed collecting the old pots, vases and other items that feature in many of the still life’s I paint. I often wonder what history is associated with them, who owned them, were they a large family or small, did they build a home, has the home suvived the years or is the pot the last link to this story.
I find that this wondering fosters in me a a stronger connection to the work in progress and certainly plays a part in the way the painting turns out.
This is also the case with landscape painting
I thoroughly enjoy painting outdoors. There’s no end to its fascination, it is ever changing and I like that.
Chasing the light becomes more urgent outside the studio and this adds to the sense of capturing a moment in time. Landscape work introduces buildings, vehicles, farm machinery and an abundance of history is woven into the scene as generations have tried to tame the land. This adds an element of intrigue for me that I strive to convey in the finished painting.
I hope that, at times, I might succeed.