Ruth Stage NEAC
Throughout my career, my landscape painting has involved an investigation
of the properties of egg tempera on gesso board.
I use the quality of this medium to portray encounters within a range of
contrasting landscapes, in both rural and urban areas. When it comes,
inspiration often takes me by surprise. The subjects within this
exhibition include footprints in the evening sunlight on a Cornish beach,
ornamental grasses illuminated by the setting sun at the Horniman Museum
garden, a group of seed heads on a frosty morning in Dulwich Park, an
intricate rockface in Robin Hood’s Bay.
Often featuring the patterns created through the effects of light on
branches and foliage, or silhouetted against the sky, the resulting work
often has a cinematic quality. Patterns which are closer to the picture
plane help draw attention across the surface, moving from the ground up to
the horizon.
The things I love to paint are full of rhythm, pattern and shapes, however
I punctuate this with surprise elements: a figure in the waves, an intense
rich violet in a shadow, a playful and unexpected yellow. I feel this
approach gives the work an individuality.
How does light fall on the
water? How can I replicate this seemingly infinite distance or make
pictorial sense of a tangled thicket of brambles? These are questions
which have been asked whilst creating this exhibition.
![](images/01 Ibizan town 39x48.jpg)
01 Ibizan town 39x48
![](images/02 Outcrop, Yorkshire coast 39x48.jpg)
02 Outcrop, Yorkshire coast 39x48
![](images/03 Low tide, Robin Hoods bay 39x48.jpg)
03 Low tide, Robin Hoods bay 39x48
![](images/04 Seedheads on a frosty morning 39x48.jpg)
04 Seedheads on a frosty morning 39x48
![](images/04a Gardens 39x48.jpg)
04a Gardens 39x48
![](images/05 Ornamental grasses 31x39.jpg)
05 Ornamental grasses 31x39
![](images/06 Winter beach party 31x41.jpg)
06 Winter beach party 31x41
![](images/07 Mountain views, Snowdonia 31x39.jpg)
07 Mountain views, Snowdonia 31x39
![](images/08 Westerly beach 27x31.jpg)
08 Westerly beach 27x31
![](images/09 Rye harbour 20x23.jpg)
09 Rye harbour 20x23
![](images/10 Reed beds 20x23.jpg)
10 Reed beds 20x23
![](images/11 New years eve 18x24.jpg)
11 New years eve 18x24
![](images/12 Spring afternoon, Central Park 18x24.jpg)
12 Spring afternoon, Central Park 18x24
![](images/13 Mediteranean garden 18x24.jpg)
13 Mediteranean garden 18x24
![](images/14 The Irish sea 18x24.jpg)
14 The Irish sea 18x24
![](images/15 Sunset, Cornwall 18x24.jpg)
15 Sunset, Cornwall 18x24
![](images/16 Morning rower 18x24.jpg)
16 Morning rower 18x24
![](images/17 First burst of spring 18x24.jpg)
17 First burst of spring 18x24
![](images/18 Spring, Kew gardens 18x24.jpg)
18 Spring, Kew gardens 18x24
![](images/19 River thicket 18x24.jpg)
19 River thicket 18x24
![](images/20 Winter scene, Richmond park 18x24.jpg)
20 Winter scene, Richmond park 18x24
![](images/21 Evening swimming 18x24.jpg)
21 Evening swimming 18x24
![](images/22 Ornamental grasses at twilight 18x24.jpg)
22 Ornamental grasses at twilight 18x24
![](images/23 Blossom, Central park 18x24.jpg)
23 Blossom, Central park 18x24
![](images/24 Willows, Isabella plantation 18x24.jpg)
24 Willows, Isabella plantation 18x24
![](images/25 The harbour wall, St Abbs 18x24.jpg)
25 The harbour wall, St Abbs 18x24
![](images/26 Figure with lightburst 18x24.jpg)
26 Figure with lightburst 18x24
![](images/27 March morning, Kew 10x14.jpg)
27 March morning, Kew 10x14
![](images/28 Sunrise, Catalonia 10x14.jpg)
28 Sunrise, Catalonia 10x14
![](images/29 Evening light, Clivedon 10x14.jpg)
29 Evening light, Clivedon 10x14
![](images/30 Estuary walk 10x14.jpg)
30 Estuary walk 10x14
![](images/31 Winter light 10x14.jpg)
31 Winter light 10x14
![](images/32 Creek 10x14.jpg)
32 Creek 10x14
![](images/33 Thicket path 10x14.jpg)
33 Thicket path 10x14
![](images/34 Norfolk wildfowl 10x14.jpg)
34 Norfolk wildfowl 10x14
![](images/35 Silent evening 10x14.jpg)
35 Silent evening 10x14
![](images/36 Suffolk creek 10x14.jpg)
36 Suffolk creek 10x14
![](images/37 Midsummer allotment 10x14.jpg)
37 Midsummer allotment 10x14
![](images/38 Battersea park 10x14.jpg)
38 Battersea park 10x14
![](images/39 Central park 10x14.jpg)
39 Central park 10x14