Richard was born in Chelmsford, Essex during the fine year that was 1975, the year Jaws was released. He moved to Devon when he was 8 and then moved to Newquay when he was 13, where he still lives today.
Richard started painting about 13 years ago. He had never picked up a brush before then.
"I discovered Jean-Michel Basquiat and was totally inspired by his approach to art. He painted freely, often crossing out words or just painting over mistakes and adding layers over old paint. He made you feel like there are no rules, no good or bad, almost like anyone can paint ( which I still believe today). Much like John Lyon with music ... "who wrote the rule book ?" ... just do what you feel"
Lion, Cheetah, Human by Richard Langton
"I read a lot, watch films and listen to music everyday. Bands like The Doors, Velvet Underground, Fugazi, The Drums and Joy Division are some of my favourites to paint to ... songs that have stories in. A lot of the time a painting will come about because of a particular line from a song or something in a movie I've seen, that will set me off. Sometimes ideas just come to me randomly and inspire me to start a piece. I never sketch, I'll just draw something direct to the canvas and then start painting. I use mainly acrylics because they dry quickly and you can write over them or layer them up. Many of my paintings will have 1 or 2 paintings underneath that I painted over"
Same but Different by Richard Langton
"I'm not trying to change the world with my paintings but some of them do have a message within them or a hidden story or in joke, just something to make you think. I guess I'd describe them as tongue in cheek, silly, funny, cartoonish and bright ... but mainly I paint to put a smile on your face"
A Mad Rare Switch Cheetah by Richard Langton
"Jungle is Massive" will take place at SaltWalls Gallery on the Crescent, Newquay, TR7 1DT. The preview evening for Richard's exhibition will be on Friday 21st October 2022 from 5pm until 8pm. Everyone is welcome, we will have refreshments and Richard will be in attendance to chat about his inspiration of art, films and music. The exhibition will then run until Monday 24th October 2022. If you can't make it to the gallery all the works can be seen and purchased online here:-
https://saltwalls.co.uk/collections/richard-langton-1
Many thanks to Richard for taking the time to help write part one of this blog, we have more questions that he has kindly answered which we will publish in part two, next week.
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So, it comes around quickly, this time next week we will be into our first exhibition of 2022, Winter Light. A celebration of a Cornish winter, we hope you like the curation of works we have gathered for this exhibition.
Winter in Cornwall is full of low sun days, storm filled weeks, deep shadows and dazzling light. As we approach spring we thought it would be a good way to welcome the longer days by filling the gallery with works inspired by these days.
The preview evening for the exhibition is this Friday, the 18th March 2022, from 5pm until 8pm. Anyone and everyone are welcome, wether you are in the market to buy some new art, what to chat with some of the artists or just want a quiet browse.
We are so happy to introduce a few new artists to our walls including Joe McDonald and Ellen Frances.
Ellen works ' En Plein Air ' and has a beautiful loose style with a subtle use of pastel colours to capture the beauty around her. As her pieces are painted on location you even get some of the local sand and flora attached to her work !
We also have work by established local artists whom have exhibited with us before. Toby Ray is exhibiting two new pieces painted in location at Mawgan Porth on one of the blue sky winter days
Newquay local, Diane Griffiths will be exhibiting two of her winter inspired originals, one of Porth beach and one of Watergate Bay.
Claire Britcliffe has been with the gallery since we opened in some form or another ! We had her first "Eyes on " piece in our first exhibition last summer which didn't stay on the walls long. Since then we haven't been able to get hold of another original from Claire as her work has proved so popular they sell within minutes of being launched. But we are so happy to say she has painted us an exclusive piece for this exhibition so here is " Eyes on Great Western " in all her winter glory .
Simon Knight has produced to stunning charcoal pieces. Having spent years honing his skills as a world class pencil artists he is now turning his had to looser charcoal landscapes which we love.
Andy Pearce has kept the paints flowing this winter and will have a selection of new works on display, either on paper or on canvas but always using his trusty acrylic paints to capture local scenes he loves .
Stuart Rowe, another gallery regular, has delivered three stunning oils, again depicting some of his favourite places in his distinctive style. We love his use of loose oils and colours to capture the energy of a Cornish winter.
We will be receiving new works all week so keep an eye on our exhibition tab on the website so see new works as they arrive. You can purchase online or from the gallery and any from any sale during the exhibition, 10% will be split between The The British Red Cross Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal and Cornwall Hospice Care
Thank you and we look forward to welcoming you in the gallery or virtually, online
Team SaltWalls
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With way less than a week to go we are busy uploading the generous donations for the silent auction onto the website. We hope these pieces will raise a lot of money for our chosen charity, Blood Cancer UK
You can bid on these pieces through the duration of the exhibition starting with the preview evening this Friday. You can also email a bid through if you can't make it in person but unfortunately due to some of the artwork being framed behind glass we are unable to ship.
First up Claire Britcliffe has donated a framed print of her " Eyes on Lusty ". It is the artists proof which she has hand embellished with gold leaf. Words can't describe how wonderful this piece is and we expect a lot of interest in this.
Next is a stunning pastel piece by Stuart Rowe. He has donated a wonderful deconstructed wave piece that is beautiful presented in a contemporary mount and frame
We are also delighted to have a hand embellished print by Lu Cornish. She is donating a framed version of her Moonlight Glaze which she is adding a touch of magic to with her silver pen. It will be mounted and framed in a modern thin aluminium frame and we are so happy to have this.
Tom Hughes has generously donated a print from his new illustration of an evening on Lusty Glaze. This also will be mounted and framed so should you win the artwork you can take it home and hang it right away. Tom has also hand signed the print making it a one of a kind piece
If you would like a real statement piece in your home there is nothing better than the huge original oil we have on offer from the queen of plein air, Julie Dunster. She has donated this staggering seascape that would look amazing in any room.
We think the next piece is super special ... the first print of a very limited run of 25 from Jacquie O'Neill. Jacquie spent many hours on Lusty Glaze getting the idea for this unique take on the special cove. We love the thought of bobbing in the sea under a crescent moon looking back at the lights of Lusty
Lastly as gallery owner and head misfit I thought it was only fair to donate two pieces, one original acrylic and one from my alter ego, Sketch Wanderings ... an original watercolour and ink map of Lusty Glaze. The original acrylic is on canvas and is my take on the light bouncing around my favourite cove, called Silver Light, Lusty Glaze
For some reason I keep hold of the Lusty Glaze map original that had been turned into prints, so now is the time to pass it on to a loving home. It hass been framed and is ready to hang on a Lusty lovers wall.
Along with these silent auction pieces we also have the raffle with all proceeds going to Blood Cancer UK. We are also donating a percentage of sales during the week long exhibition so not only can you own a piece of art but you can have a warm glowy feeling inside knowing you donated to a wonderful cause.
We would love to see you here at the gallery on the preview evening where we will have some of the artists present. There will also be nibbles and drinks free of charge so come down between 5pm and 9pm and help support our maiden exhibition.
Thank you so much as always
Andy
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So, with less than a week to go before the preview evening we are starting to print, frame and collect the artwork to hang. One of the first pieces we collected was from Claire Britcliffe aka Spellbound by the Sea and has become the centre piece for the exhibition
We absolutely love this piece and along with the original we have a very limited run of 10 giclee prints which Claire is hand embellishing with gold leaf.
We have also collected works from Julie Dunster, an extremely collectable plein air artist, and she has produced two delightful oil paintings for us.
Four oil paintings have been collected from the talented hands of Jerry Sanders and one of the pieces in my opinion sums up Lusty Glaze in spring
We had the wonderful Andrew Barrowman and Toby Ray visit us on the same day and deliver five pieces between them, one of which sold that same day.
Andrew and Toby both work in oil and produce pieces " en plain air " but both have a very individual style.
We had a piece from the lovely Julia Crossland arrive in the post and will have this framed for the exhibition. Julia's piece really sums up a summers day on Lusty Glaze.
Digital art and illustrations are now a part of the mainstream art world and we are really happy to have exclusive works from Lu Cornish and Tom Hughes. Lu's work always tells a story and she hasn't disappointed with her two pieces. Tom illustrative style sums up Lusty in a heartbeat and we love his colour palette he has chosen for his piece
I have followed Natasha Owens work for ages and am humbled to own a piece so it was with absolute delight she produced 4 pieces for the exhibition, two of which have already sold
A visit in the week saw Jacqui O'Neill drop three pieces of at the gallery, two for the exhibition and another for our silent auction wall. All three pieces are absolutely stunning and we are happy to say we will have prints of the originals to sell during the exhibition.
We also have a magnificent original pastel by Stuart Rowe. The scale and sheer intensity of the summer colours Stuart has used in his piece is literally incredible. Stuart has also donated an original pastel for our silent auction wall.
We are excited to see what remaining artwork we will get from Sarah Raybould, Roger Holmes, Jenny Aitken and Fiona Siyver.
As an artist myself and having a lifelong love of Lusty Glaze it was an absolute please to paint and sketch for this exhibition and to have the opportunity to raise money for a wonderful cause, Blood Cancer UK. The exhibition hasn't even started and we have raised over £200.
I don't think this exhibition without the support of my amazing gallery assistant, Emma and the support of all at Lusty Glaze, especially the lovely Tracey and the amazing team at Starts & Co whom we are humbled to have sponsoring the event.
The preview evening is this Friday, the 30th, 5pm until 9pm and the exhibition will then run all week until Friday 6th August.
You are all welcome to come even it is just to browse these amazing pieces that our humble little gallery is proud to display
Thank you
Andy
]]>Its a strange world we are living in at the moment but I hope you are all keeping safe, well and finding some positivity in the lock down days.
I get asked a fair bit, which paints I use, which paper I use and do I use knives or brushes, so I thought I would shed a little light on my creative process in a series of blogs... hope you find it enjoyable and informative.
Today I thought I would run through the equipment I am using at present, hopefully with links to buy ( most art suppliers are delivering online safely still ) if you would like to try some of the bits I use.
First off, paints...I love the stuff, it liquidly in a thick way and comes in so many colours now a days. I predominantly use acrylics so will show you my go to types.
From bottom to top, kind of in price order as well, we have System 3 acrylics. I like these because they are very fluid and are great for leaving wet brush marks. The pigment content isn't that high so you have to use quite a bit to cover any large areas but they are relatively cheap. Available to but online at JacksonsArt or if you are in Cornwall visit Truro Arts. Secondly, Again a Daler Rowney product, is Cryla acrylics, a heavy body artist quality paint with a high pigment level. They are a lot thicker than the System 3 so are great for adding texture and holding brush marks, but you can also water them down for large washes. Again they are available to buy from JacksonsArt. These paints are price banded depending on pigment which can be quite pricey. Thirdly, Golden Acrylics, I love these paints. They are high quality, rich pigment and go a long way. Again they are perfect to use straight out of the tube or watered down for large washes. The most expensive out of the three but if you can afford a few they are well worth it. Check the range of colours they have here . The technique I use with all these paints is to water them down with a tiny touch of washing up liquid dissolved in the water.
Secondly, my brushes. These are my three favourites at the moment although I can't remember for the life of me where I bought them !
From the bottom, the first is a little chisel edged brush, approx 1/4 inch. It is pretty much the smallest brush I use, I can use it flat to give angled texture or spin it round and use the point for details. In the middle is my most used, 1/2 inch flat brush. It is quite stiff and works really well for large areas of cliffs or clouds in the sky. Lastly is my favourite, a big flat 2 and 1/2 ish inch watercolour brush that I use for large areas of sky and sea. I mix my colours on the paper and this blends large areas really well and doesn't leave many brush marks behind. There are so many brushes available and it is a very tactile thing to purchase so I would advise a hands on approx but if you can't there are loads on Jacksons website.
Lastly paper. I try a lot of surfaces, heavy watercolour paper, acrylic paper, canvas, wood... acrylics will bond to pretty much anything so experiment with different surfaces to find one you like. My go to paper at the moment is this
This is a lovely paper to use and can take a lot of water without cockling which is a massive bonus for me, and its made in the UK so another bonus. I normally buy it from Truro Arts but you can but it online here on the Seawhite website. They also have a look of exciting looking products so its probably worth having a browse.
A basic setup with maybe 4 brushes, 10 colours and a pad will probably cost around £75 but that will give you enough material for quite a few paintings and experiments. I know its quite a bit of money but the enjoyment from taking part in a creative process is well worth it in my humble opinion.
So that's the equipment I use, I hope you find my ramblings informative and forgive my bad grammar and spelling !
Have fun and stay safe.
]]>A more detailed description of five paintings inspired by Porth Beach, Cornwall.
]]>My first place of inspiration is Porth beach and the surrounding headlands. My little bungalow is situated at the top of the road down to the beach and I am humbled to call the place home.
I have created a map with the detailed position of where the following five pieces are from and I thought I could explain in a bit more detail where and why I painted them and hopefully it will inspire you to visit or create yourselves.
Number 1 on the map is a new piece that is the view from the right hand side of the beach, just before the bridge that crosses onto Porth Island. As the tide come in the beach disappears and small waves flood up the sand. Porth is a very flat beach which means the waves loose a lot of power as they run up the bay, making it bad for surfers but great for families, kayakers and SUP boards. This little cove catches the afternoon sunshine as the sun heads down over Glendorgal headland which you can see on the other side of the beach. Prints of this piece are available here
Number 2 is from up on Porth headland, looking across the beach towards Glendorgal. This time I have left the holiday cottages and Hotel on as I have a tendency to leave them out. The path leads down to the bridge that joins the main headland to the island. the path winds its way past Iron Age, man made mounds. You can read more about the history here . This path also leads down to cove that is pictured in the first painting. The original painting is available here.
Number 3 is back on the beach, heading back to the road. There is a river that runs down the right hand side of Porth beach and while it isn't deep its flow does stop the small waves from breaking. As they pour down the beach, tiny peelers wind their way down the river. If you were 6 inches tall and a surfers you would be in heaven ! The winter afternoon are wonderful source of inspiration as the harsh light spreads across the sea and reflects in the disappearing rock pools. The original painting is available here.
Number four is from up on the island. As I mentioned before the beach is very shallow so the waves break a long way out and loose power as they run up the high tide. This piece shows the end of Glendorgal being battered by a large swell as the sun sinks over Newquay town. the distinctive Headland Hotel can be seen on far headland. I love winter sunsets and the colours that they bring and there is no better place to watch than from up on the island. The original painting is available here.
Finally, number 5, and who doesn't enjoy a sunset and there is no better place to watch than at low tide, on the beach, watching the colours change by the minute as the rocks are plunged into blackness. The river is on my right and the sun sets in ]between the gap between the island and the rocks at the end of Glendorgal, again with newquay town in the distance. The original painting is available here.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this and hopefully gaining a bit more information on some of my pieces. Thank you, as always for all of your continued support.
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