His most recent exhibition was at the Fishslab Gallery Whitstable in August 2024 (see images below). If you have missed this show you can visit Ric in his studio at this year’s East Kent Open Houses, which runs from 12th/13th, 19th/20th, 26th/27th October 2024 Artists’ Open Houses | (ekoh.org.uk).
On show were 25 original oil on canvas paintings, as well as a range of Gouache (Watercolour) studies and many cards of Whitstable, Canterbury and surrounding areas.
It’s now 11 years that Ric W. Horner has lived in the late Dan Sherrin’s quirky cottage on The Saxon Shore Way in Whitstable, a long-distance footpath in England, which starts at Gravesend, Kent, and traces the coast of South-East England for 163 miles in total. He is one in a long line of artists , writers and novelists that made the town their home, for reasons such as the gorgeous light and stunning sunsets.
Eccentric painter Dan Sherrin (1869 – 1940) was an artist that could not be missed about the town, as he insisted on wearing the most outrageously chequer plus-fours and his love of beer was legendary.
Dan was also a famous self-publicist of the most humorous kind, a practical joker who not only poked fun at those in authority – he even built his own airplane and created a spoof fire brigade!
One of Dan’s paintings still hangs in Buckingham Palace, as he was once commissioned by King George V. Furthermore. An elderly neighbour who lived nearby in Preston Parade Seasalter, has told Ric that he recalls seeing Winston Churchill plus entourage on the little foot bridge on Preston Parade, viewing the newly installed gun battery, which was right in front of the house in about 1943.
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Now working from Dan Sherrin’s space, Ric says: “My paintings have much to do with the changing energy of weather; encompassing all sorts of environmental conditions, which can range massively from attractive, peaceful and scenic to threatening and dangerous.”
“Since moving into the late artist Dan Sherrin’s old cottage, I have set up my studio at the front of the house, which overlooks the sea. This has changed my working practice profoundly, as I now have a myriad of subject matter in front of me and I am less dependent on notes and colour sketches. I can now work directly on canvas from my subject and study in detail various sea states and “light events” which may have previously evaded me. It’s become possible to study storms in greater detail and track showers and their influence on the sea in some degree of comfort. Sadly, despite the house’s prominence and history, time and gravity has taken its toll, leaving it bereft of level floors, so when I first moved in, the horizon appeared to lean when looking out!”
The famous painter J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) described the sunsets along the North Kent coast as some of the best in the world and just like Turner, Ric continues to explore the unique light conditions found in this area.
Ric has exhibited his extraordinarily atmospheric British land & seascapes last August in Harbour Street, Whitstable. For interest in any of the remaining pieces visit the page Available Paintings, or contact him at tel. 07835294317/ enquiries@richorner.com.
For centuries, Margate has drawn in visitors with its golden sandy bay and shallow tidal pool. As one of England’s first grand seaside resorts, the town continues to live up to its reputation as the go-to for summer holidays.
Ric grew up in this area and has painted the stunning views over Margate Sands many times. He has also painted the utterly spectacular Ramsgate Harbour with its charming old town coastal architecture, blend of colourful history, rich cultural traditions, and breath-taking coast line.
Margate has recently grown to be quite an artistic hub for Kent. Ever since the opening of the Turner Contemporary in 2011, it has grown increasingly trendy and attracted a rise of down-from-Londoners moving to the area. The Old Town is an excellent place to start your adventure as it is often buzzing with daily activities of locals and tourists alike. There are a variety of art galleries, who are celebrating Margate’s connection with the painter J. M. W. Turner.
J.M.W. Turner (1775–1851) described the famous sunsets along the North Kent coast as some of the best sunsets in the world and just like he did, Ric now continues this line and explores the unique light and atmospheres found in this area.
The Turner Contemporary gallery has exhibited the works of countless international artists, including Turner Prize nominees and winners Antony Gormley, Jeremy Deller, Tracey Emin, Yinka Shonibare, Paula Rego and Grayson Perry.
Ric is currently looking to sell his greeting cards and prints in the wider Kentish area. If you are a retailer and interested in stocking any of these cards, get in touch via enquiries@richorner.com, or order a pack of 9 cards directly from his shop:
Margate Greeting Card Collection
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After graduating from Exeter College of Art in 1989, Ric Horner spent the first two years of his career living and working on Dartmoor in Devon, developing a unique and profound engagement with light, mood and distance. Consequently he produced two solo shows; one at Marloes gallery in London in 1989 and one at Exeter College in 1990.
Twenty-six years later, in 2016, Ric had the opportunity to put together yet another stunning exhibition on the subject, this time at Green Hill Arts in Moretonhampstead on Dartmoor National Park. Thanks to his longstanding friend, supporter and art collector, historian and internationally acclaimed author Dr Ian Mortimer, Ric was able to showcase a selection of over 40 original oil on canvas paintings in the town’s dedicated art space.
Dr Ian Mortimer said about this exhibition in his introduction:
“Ric Horner is one of the country’s leading landscape painters. I have no doubt that, in due course, he will be recognised as one of the most significant landscape artists of our time. Ric’s dedication is astounding; his integrity no less so. For me it has been a privilege and an honour to be so closely involved with this exhibition, and to have been able to buy a number of his paintings over the years. “
The “Dartmoor: Theatre of Light” exhibition (10th September to 29th October 2016) at Green Hill Arts in Moretonhampstead was very well received and sold well for the gallery.
This year, in spring 2024, Ric has returned to the subject and has produced 26 different greeting card designs taken from this solo exhibition, as well as from other Devonshire and Cornish coastal areas.
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He is currently selling some of these cards via MAKE Southeast in Bovey Tracey and the Moretonhampstead Visitors’ Information Centre.
With over 150,000 visitors a year traveling to Dartmoor National Park, there can be no question that Dartmoor and it’s landscape has attracted artists, as well as tourists for centuries and helped fire their imagination. From the thick mists that suddenly appear and roll across the moor to the dark, bottomless mires and the craggy granite tors, each lends an air of mystery and magic, all ripe for associated legends and tales.
http://visitmoretonhampstead.co.uk.
Dr Mortimer says about Ric’s work:
In this exhibition, you will find yourself on a road at night having just seen the first welcoming streetlight of the village: you will soon be home and warm. The sun has gone down behind Laughter Tor leaving a few drifting clouds and vapour trails in the deep blue sky: the seemingly eternal rocky outcrop is juxtaposed with the ephemeral vestiges of the day. But the most striking feature of these Dartmoor paintings is the light. Often the painting is not actually about the hill, rock or any other object in the distance; it is about the space between you and that object. It is a portrait of the light, a place where skies brood, threaten, delight, obscure with mist, groan with rain or brighten with a ray of optimism.”
“A stunning exhibition of the highest calibre!”
“Poetic, beautiful, bold and absolutely marvellous!”
“They are sublime. So magical and true to the atmosphere”
“Ric Horner’s work is superb – truly spectacular!”
“Breathtaking views and big skies! Fabulous.”
“Wow! “I absolutely love your work; such stunning paintings. The most amazing sky and little houses shining like jewels. What an uplifting exhibition!”
“We recently saw your Theatre of Light exhibition in Moretonhampstead and were both really moved by it. I just wanted to let you know how delighted I am to have been able to purchase one of your pictures. I bought your picture of Scorhill (image below). It’s always been a favourite place of mine on the Moor and your picture captures it so vividly.“
Ric in his studio in summer 2016 preparing for the show.
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Below: Friends Ian Mortimer and Ric Horner on field trip to ‘The Strangles’ in September 2014, where the idea of the ‘Theatre of Light ‘ exhibition was first perceived.
Ric is available for commissions. Please contact him at: enquiries@richorner.com, if you fancy your own favourite views painted.
He has recently (April 2024) completed a large scale panorama picturing the view as you walk across the pebble bed heaths around Joney’s Cross near Sidmouth, a high point that is looking towards the coast in East Devon.
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In the same year as the British Museum put on a blockbuster exhibition called ‘Life and death in Pompeii and Herculaneum’, 2013 (www.britishmuseum.org/pompeii-live) Ric also created a solo show on the subject of the ancient Roman city Pompeii, hoping to transport people back to AD 79 to discover how life was transformed in just 24 hours, when the two cities in the Bay of Naples, southern Italy, were buried by a catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Hoping to recreate how it looks now, and how it may well have looked during and after the famous eruption of Mount Vesuvius he said:
“Pompeii is paradoxical, the city was once the site of a tremendous environmental catastrophe, but now all is serene and in a state of artful decay. Ironically, its preservation was due to its destruction -had it not been buried by the layers of ash, it would not be here today. In this particular series I tried to convey these unique qualities. When creating the work, I found that I had tapped into a similar colour palette to the one artists used when painting frescos in and around the city before the eruption. This may not have been a coincidence and may be linked to the strong Italian sunlight and its location near the Bay of Naples.”
Another exhibition of Pompeii that is currently running is at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. This show is on until September 2023. (msichicago.org/pompeii)
