Ruth Fitton Workshop at my studio

This is an incredibly exciting announcement. Just one month since opening my new studio at Wimbledon Art Studios, I’ve managed to pull in Ruth Fitton, a fantastic portrait artist – one of the country’s best, in my opinion – to teach a three-day workshop. Perhaps this blog is a little late because just 18 hours after announcing on Instagram, it was completely sold out.

That is perhaps no surprise considering Ruth has had a bit of a whirlwind year. She was on my radar as one to watch for the last couple of years, but she’s really flown this past 12 months and has the accolades to prove it. She has won several awards including the Purchase Award from the highly respected Art Renewal Center and the Young Artist award at the Royal Institute of Oil Painters exhibition. She’s also shown at some of the most highly regarded events in the calendar for us representational artists, including the group show ‘Five and Under’ at Arcadia Contemporary, the ARC International Salon at Sotheby’s, NYC and MEAM, Barcelona. Oh and by the way, one of her paintings has been selected to be sent to the moon (don’t worry, it won’t be the real thing). To top it all off, she is now represented by the prestigious Fine Art Commissions in London.

I love the way Ruth paints. Her colour is always fresh – classy harmonies of neutrals bolstered by hits of chroma. Her paint texture, too, is something to marvel at – the build up of several layers of paint creating intricate networks of impasto, contrasted by moments of thin wash or bare canvas.

From her quick alla prima sketches to her magnificent large-scale works, she’s really on to something.

This is what Ruth has to say about her process: “I have always been fascinated by the human face, with its unique capacity for character and communication.

“Painting from life is the core of my practice. It is balanced by a keen curiosity for texture, layers, and edges. I constantly seek the most imaginative ways to make paint replicate the feel and character of what I’m seeing.

‘Quick, immersive live studies are generally followed by intense periods of studio work. My paintings range from opulent life-sized pieces, to figures set within landscapes, to

delicate miniatures.”

Check her out on Instagram at @ruthfittonportraits