Cecil Rice Biography Continued:

...The urge to paint was an early realisation which was encouraged by Cecil’s father Sean Rice, himself a much respected sculptor. Such encouragement was furthered by family holidays to Italy, hence rooting in Cecil the lure of the Tuscan light along with the astonishing architecture and atmosphere of Venice.

After a period of teaching and painting in tandem, the impetus to paint full-time became so strong that Cecil gave up his job and became a professional fine artist in 1997. Exhibitions of Cecil’s work have been staged throughout the country.

The Battersea Arts Fair proved a strong platform from which to introduce work to galleries and collectors alike. During the most recent years, as demand has grown, Cecil has chosen to exhibit primarily with selected galleries in London and Brighton. His ambition of staging a solo exhibition in Cork Street London was realised in 2002 while in the same year his work was exhibited in Tokyo and Nagoya.

Inspirations come in many forms. Cecil has no doubt that his father’s influence was strong; an exposure to art and creativity from childhood nurtured a good eye and one that is now instinctive, this is apparent in the composition and subject matter of his paintings.

As for influential artists, Sean Rice apart, Cecil recalls a visit to The Castle Museum in Norwich where he first saw the works of The Norwich School and found particular fascination in works by J.S.Cotman. Of Emil Nolde he comments “intensity of his colour and a fluid vitality is glorious.” Cecil also returns to The Clore Gallery at Tate Britain quite regularly to admire Turners paintings of Venice “they are simply sublime, they are at once inspirational but quite awesome too.”

Travel is of course another significant stimulation. “Venice will be evermore, as will other architectural glories of Italy that must include Florence, Rome and Pisa.” It is not just the celebrated that captures Cecil’s eye as his work clearly conveys.

The vernacular farmsteads of Tuscany, silhouetted palms along The Nile, courtyards and doorways of North Africa or the gleaming sun on seas and shores close to his Sussex home are all readily recorded in his work.
The element that resounds throughout all Cecil’s work is that of light, Cecil comments “I’m attracted by how the brightest light in a painting gives way to the deepest of shadows. This range of contrast in a watercolour imparts a kind of strength and satisfies the eye. Colour of course is another entity and sometimes, even without much tonal contrast, can be arranged so as to have a luminosity of its own. This aspect I enjoy in parts of Emil Nolde and Pierre Bonnard’s work.”

Cecil uses a wide range of colours, as his work conveys, he is both confident and imaginative with even the most vibrant. Usually Cecil will sketch in graphite before applying colour, using his sketch book he will often prepare or complete works on the spot. Watercolour sketches can also provide him with a guide when working back in his studio. In conjunction to such sketches, Cecil will also refer to the many transparencies he shoots while travelling.

As for papers, a diverse selection are used, the fibrous heavyweights allow a noticeably different result to the smooth. Working ‘wet on wet’ produces a wonderful fusion of colour that can add a great deal of atmosphere in Cecil’s opinion.

In complete contrast and as an alternative to watercolours that ‘sometimes will not behave themselves’, Cecil will work in oil on both canvas and panel. These are, however, rarely exhibited, as the medium is one Cecil cares to merely explore and experiment with.

As with most artists a day in the studio does not make scintillating reading…..’got up, painted’…..it’s not going to be too profound. On the other hand when on his travels, sketching and searching out new ideas make the days far more varied. When in Venice, for example, Cecil comments “I tend to walk around the city during the first few days making small pencil and watercolour sketches, also making mental notes to return at a different time of day to see a particular scene with a differing light. I also use my camera extensively as it’s often not practical to sit and sketch.”

“I generally travel with my wife, Linda, who has been crucial to my work offering endless encouragement. Her company on such trips helps me settle readily to my painting and thus become more productive. I find her accurate judgements of my works in progress and nearing completion invaluable. When in such lovely places it’s not all work!, I do break for a lazy lunch and of course when the sun goes down work bows to dinner, but I have to say I never really stop looking.”

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