Paul J Ritchie BSc FDip
Member of AN: Artists Information Company (40086530)
07443 543059
An artist's journey
"The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls" by Pablo Picasso
My journey through an art & design course
Above you can see my home studio (LHS) with materials and equipment for delivering creative practice. It is shared with family members and used by our informal Art Club. This space was invaluable for completing a UAL Foundation Diploma in Art & Design at Reigate School of Art. I was given Summer Sketchbook project early in September 2023 so that I could start investigating my creative practice in preparation for this course. As part of that review I made a shaman ghost mask (RHS) and masks remained a common theme having made eight for Stages 1 and 2 of this course.
I started the Diploma proper in September 2024 embarking on Stage 1 that involved two mini-projects and four themed projects as a continuation of a diagnostic investigation into my creative practice. This was followed by developing my specialist practice of fine art during Stage 2 through researching, planning and producing a body of work for two larger projects. After Easter 2025 I started Stage 3 consolidating my creative practice by planning, producing and presenting my Final Major Project entitled "A Sense of Place" that was inspired by love of Nower Wood near Headley.
This video by the Tate Gallery explains why as a scientist I believe art has an important role in all our lives and future...
I started Summer Sketchbook project in September 2023 because I was not studying a level 3 qualification in art & design and it helped me to rediscover & review my own creative practice. I experimented with mixed-media methods and collage such as the studies of Ancient Egyptian god Horus (LHS) and Hindu god Shiva (RHS). I explored ways for showing people how to draw wildlife, such as the dung beetle (LHS) drawn in graphite from a printed image and I attended a batik course creating a turtle (RHS) above. I started the FAD course in September 2024 that focused on investigation into my personal creative practice during Stage 1.
During Stage 2 of the course I moved onto developing my specialist practice and applying my learning from Stage 1 to my fine art creative practice. For the Body as Identities project I looked at the use of geometric shapes by the fashion industry and animation artists to identify & categorise standard body shapes. I considered the role of masks in context of identity using colour to represent moods, creating a Human Trinity sculpture using masks, typography & decoupage. I made a mask in style of the ancient Japanese Kabuki theatre (LHS) for this project. An outcome of this approach was that mask-making become a common theme across the body of work that I created for my Stage 1 & 2 projects.
I then moved onto the Art of Storytelling project during which I explored ideas about folklore, animals, masks, costumes & dance as aspects of storytelling in our cultural heritage and by indigenous peoples. I am an accomplished storyteller and this practice has featured in all my job roles but in Stage 2 I wanted to develop a more visual approach. In particular, as an outcome of my visit to Pitts River Museum in Oxford I chose to focus my research & creative practice on the raven, the largest covid (ravens, rooks, crows, magpies, jacdaws etc) in UK. I made a 'trickster' Raven mask (RHS) and a costume; wrote a poem and created screen prints in my body of work. I wanted to expose rural practice of shooting corvids.
So in Stage 3 I set out to consolidate my creative practice so that I can help people engage with the natural world and develop a 'sense of place' for their unique local environments. For my Final Major Project I created a series of banners that celebrate my Celtic cultural heritage and my love of trees, with particular focus on the Celtic Tree Calendar and ancient Ogham Alphabet. Each banner has a background screen-printed with green bark effect design and overlain with screen-printed typography based a key mystical word selected for each of the eight species of tree characteristic of my chosen 'sense of place' - Nower Wood, Headley.
At the bottom of each banner is an orange coloured Celtic Dara Knot of my own design again screen-printed, whilst at the top is a large hand-painted Celtic rune depicting a sound from the Ogham Alphabet. The runes also refer to particular species of tree from the Tree Calendar that were important to Celtic mythology. For example the banner on the LHS of my installation symbolises BETH (Silver Birch) or The Lady of the Woods and represents the first Calendar month (December 24 - January 20) and it's mystical word is purity. The outcome of this project was an installation of hanging banners that reflect my 'sense of place' and personal interest in art, nature and culture.
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I started FAD Stage 3 (UAL Unit 4) Final Major Project entitled "A Sense of Place" after being inspired by my love of Nower Wood in Surrey Hills AONB and this video Nature's Anthem by Croydon rapper Still Shady...