Rebecca Ritchie is a classical still life artist working in oils.

 

Having attended  Maidstone school of art Rebecca went on to enjoy a successful career in Television Set design. In 2015 she decided to revisit her first discipline and took up painting full time, working from her studio in Langton Green.

'My compositions are constructed in my mind's eye before I begin hunting for my props and I am very much drawn to a combination of items that create an appealing scene or give a sense of nostalgia. I spend as long as I can setting up the composition and use a digital camera to help work out the best composition. I spend hours rooting around on ebay, antique shops – and sometimes even friends’ houses for things that I'm specifically looking for. I’ve built up quite a collection of pottery, glass and old silverware, which I like for its reflective qualities.

I prefer natural light because the shadows are so different, I also enjoy the hint of my garden through the window that emerges in the reflected light. I spend a long time on the composition, housing it in a dark board structure pinned together to specifically control and restrict light. I also occasionally introduce candle light 'off stage' for additional moulding and tone.'

Rebecca also enjoys painting portraits and won the 2018 'The Artist's People's Choice Award' with the Artist and Leisure painter magazines for her Portrait 'Colin'.

She exhibits in various Kent galleries as well as the Battersea Affordable Art Show, The Society Of Women Artists and annually with the prestigious Kent Painters Group.