Ray Wirick is an American born artist currently working from his studio in a Cotswold stone village just outside of Bath.

He was born and raised in a trailer on Americas tornado belt, better known as Illinois aka ‘Land of Lincoln”.

One of 4 children to an often single mother who worked at times as a waitress in a cocktail bar to make ends meet.

He escaped 800 miles away to art school on the FB Thalheimer Scholarship at seventeen.

He studied drawing for 5 years at the prestigious Maryland Institute College of Art.

While studying there Ray was introduced to landscape painting by professor Peter Collier and never stopped.

Often working commercially as an artist in the Theme Park Industry, Raymond continued to paint in the studio and outdoors as well, exhibiting his work frequently.

Most recently Raymond completed a series of 6 paintings in and around Newquay Cornwall, some of which are in this exhibition.

Chasing the light

My paintings simply mirror the changing world around me. A conversation with nature where I attempt to control the dialogue with line and colour. The process is a never ending chase due to the transitive nature of the world we live in. A moving target for my brushes.

I pick and choose elements from my surroundings and arrange them according to space.

The speed of my brush often controls my grasp on reality and purpose. The introduction of greys to chroma controls and commands the space my new world exists in.

Drawing is a key aspect to all of my work. Through drawing I decide the narrative of each work, often symbolic and allegorical my paintings will always tell a story.

The orchestration of my work moves like a song, sometimes fast and immediate, sometimes slowly building in layers like tracks in a recording studio only coming together at the very last note, rich and colourful.