BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.5//EN TZID:Europe/London X-WR-TIMEZONE:Europe/London BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6452@artinliverpool.com DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London;VALUE=DATE:20210810 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London;VALUE=DATE:20210822 DTSTAMP:20210723T134144Z URL:https://www.artinliverpool.com/events/arthouse-steve-rigby-a-retrospec tive/ SUMMARY:ArtHouse Gallery: ArtHouse: Steve Rigby - a retrospective DESCRIPTION:Steve Rigby - a retrospective\nSouthport watercolour artist\, S teve Rigby\, takes painting ‘en plein air’ to a new level. Some of t he local scenes he has painted started as sketches on the back of betting slips: “I take betting slips and pens from the bookies when I go in to put a bet on the football. They're free art materials\,” he furtively a dmits. Odds are\, Steve’s backed another winner with his upcoming exhibi tion at The ArtHouse (10th – 21st August) in Southport.\nWhen the wea ther permits\, Steve is often seen out on location\, sensitively capturing the reality of painting in situ. His impressionistic watercolours follow a similar path to earlier artists like Monet\, Turner and van Gogh\, convi nced by the value of working in the open air under natural light.\n“I tr y to create atmosphere and mood in my paintings. It's about tone\, rather than colour. I don't use many colours\, it's about light.”\nDespite wate rcolour’s notoriety as a difficult medium to control\, Steve’s atmosph eric scenes seem effortlessly conjured by the skilful application of his b rush and paints. They are anchored on the page by a loose articulation tha t potently conjures up impressionistic mementos of his travels.\nWatercolo urs always allow for freedom of movement and Steve’s free flowing techni que is certainly put the test as he translates the distinguishing imagery of his chosen subject\, often the capital cities across Europe\, into his own personal visual language.\nTo further his knowledge of the medium\, in 2008\, Steve went down under to study with master Australian water-colour ist\, Joseph Zbukvic. Steve and Joseph have since kept in touch and remain friends\, painting together on trips to both Venice and the Dordogne.\nHo wever\, many of Steve’s favourite paintings are of his hometown on Merse yside. Originally from Runcorn\, Steve\, who is largely self-taught\, move d to Southport over 20 years ago. Despite the UK’s unreliable weather St eve often takes inspiration from the urban landscape literally on his door step.\n“I like rainy paintings and I like painting buildings\, particula rly the Liver Building in Liverpool and the buildings along Lord Street in Southport\, with Trinity Church at one end and the clock tower at the oth er. I aim to include one of those big verticals in my work.”\nThere was a further big vertical in the piece he recently created for Sky's ‘Land scape Painter of the Year’ programme when he re-appeared on the show in autumn 2019 after being shortlisted by the judges as a potential ‘wild card’winner the season before.\n“It was a painting of Smeaton's Tower from Plymouth Hoe\, looking down on Drake's island\,” he remembers.  “It was a great experience to be on the programme and hopefully it was g ood exposure for me.”\nSteve’s limited palette and swift\, free-flowin g style have gained him much recognition. His paintings appear in gallerie s and collections locally\, nationally and worldwide and he continues to g enerously offer tuition and demonstrations up and down the country.\nSteve believes that we all have the ability not only to paint but also to enjoy the act of painting once we know its secrets. He prides himself on his ab ility to get the best out of his students by repeatedly targeting the focu s directly towards each individual. Steve’s advice to his students is al ways to “paint as they wish” and to enjoy creating something that is personal and unique to themselves.\nSteve’s inclusive and amiable perso nality is always well to the fore within his shared workshops. Despite his obvious authority in the watercolour community he remains approachable an d supportive\, presenting himself as an encouraging chaperon to the enjoym ent of painting ‘en plein air’ and the ritual of taking part.\nDirec tor of Southport Contemporary Arts\, Norrie Beswick-Calvert\, confirms "W e are delighted to welcome back Steve Rigby to the ArtHouse Gallery with h is new solo show. The exhibition will showcase a wide range of work in Ste ve's fabulously loose and atmospheric style\, which plays to the full stre ngths of watercolour as his preferred medium."\nA retrospective by Steve R igby\n10th – 21st August 2021\nTues-Fri: 10am-3pm/Sat: 11am-4pm\nArtHo use\nSouthport Contemporary Arts\n65 Eastbank Street\, Southport\nPR8 1EJ\ nwww.sca-network.co.uk ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.artinliverpool.com/wp-content/upload s/2021/07/liverpool-waterfront.jpg LOCATION:ArtHouse Gallery\, 65 Eastbank Street\, Southport\, Sefton\, PR81E J\, Southport\, United Kingdom GEO:53.645169;-3.004323 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=65 Eastbank Street\, Southp ort\, Sefton\, PR81EJ\, Southport\, United Kingdom;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TI TLE=ArtHouse Gallery:geo:53.645169,-3.004323 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London X-LIC-LOCATION:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20210328T020000 TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR