Bob Rudd

Suffolk artist Bob Rudd was born in 1944 during a period when Britain was starting to recover from challenging times, representing quintessential England. Having studied at Bath Academy of Art from 1969 to 1973, he achieved membership in the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in 1995.

Bob has successfully displayed his works in galleries all over London and the UK, including solo exhibitions in London, Edinburgh, and the Isles of Scilly. Additionally, his works have been exhibited in the new parliament buildings and Westminster, specifically in the House of Lords. Along his artistic journey, he has also received numerous prestigious awards.

Bob is known for painting many Scottish landscapes. He started doing so when a gallery in the highlands approached him. The gallery mentioned that visitors frequently purchase paintings of the local scenery, so it became natural for Bob to focus on painting these landscapes.

He says there are easier ways of making a living, but for him, it’s not just about that. It’s about seeing. Discovering something interesting in a landscape without necessarily capturing it in the same way as a photograph. It is a collection of impressions that are gathered when the weather moves across the scene or theatre in the form of paint.

Bob’s paintings are identifiable, but they are never replicas. However, the marks are not a result of haphazardly applied paint; each mark is intentional and carefully considered. How pleasing is it that he paints as he wants and they sell!

His coastal paintings primarily utilise still water and reflection to evoke the dramatic cliffs and headlands, seeking out the darks by applying watercolour in multiple layers to intensify the shadows and emphasise the colours of the sky, sea, and sand. And then, surprising as it may be, maybe that wide expanse of purple, that touch of blue seen beyond the sea arch, that vibrant green of moss.

A quote from Bob ”Paint because you want and need to and not for reward, approval, plaudits, therapy, status or anyone’s pleasure but your own. If, like me, you can make a living from it then that is a pleasing accident.”