Richard Llewelyn Wathen is a British

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

born in 1971. He lives in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Wathen graduated with a BA in Fine Art Painting from

Winchester School of Art Winchester School of Art is the art school of the University of Southampton, situated 10 miles (14 km) north of Southampton in the city of Winchester near the south coast of England. History The Winchester School of Art was founded in 187 ...

in 1995 and received an MA in Fine Art from the

Chelsea School of Art Chelsea College of Arts is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London based in London, United Kingdom, and is a leading British art and design institution with an international reputation. It offers further and higher educat ...

in 1996.

Style

Richard Wathen's paintings are primarily portraits and his works have been compared to those of

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

in their subject matter and composition, though with a "strangeness" or "uneasiness" about them, even something "eerie" or "grotesque." His works are often described as being initially familiar, with their similarity to historical portraiture in composition and technique, but upon further inspection revealing "disquieting details" which contribute to the sense of eerie strangeness.

Exhibitions

Wathen's works have been exhibited in numerous galleries in cities across Europe and the US including solo shows in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. In 2004, Wathen contributed to the art exhibition, 100 MOTHERS at The

Oxford House The term Oxford House refers to any house operating under the "Oxford House Model", a community-based approach to addiction recovery, which provides an independent, supportive, and sober living environment. Today there are nearly 3,000 Oxford House ...

Bethnal Green Bethnal Green is an area in the East End of London northeast of Charing Cross. The area emerged from the small settlement which developed around the common land, Green, much of which survives today as Bethnal Green Gardens, beside Cambridge Heat ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wathen, Richard 1971 births Living people 20th-century British painters British male painters 21st-century British painters 20th-century British male artists 21st-century British male artists