Tom Rickman was born in the City of London 1960
I grew up in the suburbs
of West London though spent my childhood holidays in Charmouth West Dorset
where from an early age I soaked up the green hills and blue sea.
Finishing Art School
in 1982 I left London and headed for the hills to paint the Landscape and
sea that had made such an impression on me as a youth.
I worked from a beach hut at Charmouth painting the changing light of Lyme
Bay.
The nature of the place was very atmospheric, the deep grey blue Lias of the
Cliffs, soft clay, the bay stretching out to the horizon, the edge of the
land sucking the last throws of light from the twilight, the sea a shimmering
plain. It was a time of opening out and siffting through all that stuff from
art school. I think this time formed alot of ideas that I would keep retuning
to in later years. The idea of light and colour, which I had excersised in
college, being at the centre of my creative work. Now I was out there so to
speak amongst it.
As well as painting
alot of walking was done, and I allways seemed to head west. Along the beach
to get around 'that' next headland or climbing to the crown of a hill to see
'that' view again.I seemed to want space and distance. The light and air filling
the sky and landscape was my source.
The first time I discovered Cornwall was in 1984 walking the coastpath from
Falmouth around to Landsend. I fell for it imediately the constant presence
of the sea and the opulent light of the peninsuler. I finally moved to west
Cornwall in 1992.
The clarity and freshness of the light sometimes astounds me, there are allways
new moments to experiance.
It is a place that reinvents itself constantly to oneself.
Painting the Land and Sea
For some time now
I have been interested in the minimal qualities of the sea and sky, using
the horizon as a focal point of the picture. These paintings take as their
subject the specific time or moment of twilight.
“ At the end of the day there is a progression of movements where light/colour
is compressed above the horizon as it moves towards night. This resonant,
sometimes sublime time, marks a poignant moment of the day.”
“ A brief glimpse into stillness, a sense of the past and present fluxed
into one moment. A last glance at the day’s light before the surfaces
around you sink into icy blackness. ““ The works represented in
this show are concerned with the seemingly empty void of air and light in
two different geological regions of the British Isles, Cornwall and The Western
Highlands of Scotland. Though quite different in nature physically, they both
occupy a sense of remoteness and grandeur. They lie on a coastline facing
out to the opulent light and brimming richness of the western sky.
The Western Approaches of the Atlantic Ocean can be seen as a specific place
from Cornwall, an area, though remote, filled with weather and atmosphere
that in turn shapes our climate. It is a flood of space and light, a realm
to view into ...”
“ The Scottish Highlands also lie on the edge of a vast ocean. The convoluted
coast of lochs, mountains and glens bending and funneling the light and space
around the geography of this magnificent place.
Both the Scottish Highlands and West Cornwall have an overwhelming sense of
the romantic, an
inspiring and awesome nature beneath their surface: they dwarf the individual.
One is an uninterrupted flood of pure light and weather, the other is a profusion
of light and space permeating deep into the sculptured physical make up of
the land. Entering into them as a painter a relationship is found - the large
spaces become intimate and symbol and subject become personal. These areas
are my nearest wilderness, and as an artist I wish to dip my toe into the
vast pond of their firmament. “
Venice
Each time I arrive in Venice I am struck by the contrasts of its Light and dark spaces. The open vistas of ornate buildings, sky and water seem in direct contrast to the dark passageways and hidden quiet courtyards. The city proclaims itself at once through its beauty and history, yet hides another self like an intricate story or strange theatrical show. It is curious that the mask has become a symbol of this enchanting and mysterious place.
To leave Venice is always sad, yet the visions and memories one takes away seem as rich as the light and shadows that are left behind.
Islands
The past few years
there seems to have been an unconcious connection to places that have informed
my work.
I seem to have been drawn to Islands of various size and character.
They are a landscape defined by their own edge. ( one could even draw a parallel with the cloud studies )
I'm quite happy trundling
inbetween islands on varoius boats be it The Outer Hebrides, - Scotland, Venice
- Italy, Scilly - Cornwall, Sicilly or Majorca.In fact it is the journey to
these places that is as much the thing as the place itself - that in-betweeness
and completeness that appear together out of time.
There is a connection between these places, that sense of otherworldliness
that I feel when I step off a ferry, the sense of being defined by the islands
edges and pleasently marroned for a short while.