Richard Young, AKA R Young Art, is a UK Artist, born in Yorkshire in 1961, and now based in Wokingham, UK where he has his Art office and studio.
Self taught, with a natural flair for pencil and chalk drawing since very young and began oil painting at the age of 12, enjoying early regional competition success and media publicity for his work in the North of England. Undertook his Ordinary and Advanced level art exams a few years earlier than his peers, which he passed with the top grades. Being financially driven at that time, in 1983 he graduated in engineering and with a passion to travel, initially pursued a career as a design consultant with various International design consulting companies, residing primarily in the Middle East. Nevertheless, an artisan at heart, he returned to Commercial Art several years ago as a semi professional freelance artist, and has extensively developed artistry and his own personal style through self tuition and 'burning' the midnight oil. Actively displays his artwork in his website, galleries, magazine publications, shows and exhibitions.
The style of his artwork is modern, yet classical / traditional and occasionally contemporary. The composition and technique used is influenced and inspired by the realism and romanticism of his favourite post renaissance Masters and their wonderful, timeless masterpieces. Especially Bouguereau... Predominantly figurative, the tendency of his artwork is towards carefully composed anonymity, capturing the emotions and self belief of the subject, rather than characteristic individual representation. The creation of figurative artwork not only depicts the emotions of an artist, it transforms the artist's emotions. Also, it is far easier for viewers to carefully scrutinize figurative artwork and judge its anatomical accuracy, often creating a more personal understanding of specific favourite pieces. His figurative artwork, including portraits and nudes, are sensual and sometimes tastefully erotic. His dancers in particular are passionate, moody and emotional. His preferred lighting, shading and contrast are dramatic. He simply adores light and is fascinated with its arguably undue influence on any subject. After all, without light, what is art? Unlike the vast majority of past and current artists, he delves extensively between the extremes of highlights and lowlights in his artwork in a chiaroscuro technique, occasionally minimalist, often leaving the viewer's mind to complete the picture and to add depth. He always strives to create an atmosphere in whatever he produces, at the highest possible quality and using a knife, brush, canvas and a very limited colour palette of oil paint or pastels, usually alla prima, mixing only on the canvas!
He personally invites all art lovers of the purest form, whether an established or prospective client, a corporate buyer, an individual seeking knowledge, or simply interested in discovering more about his artwork, to come into his world, enjoy his finest works, and find out more.
Whether you're a collector, you appreciate the creativity and value of fine art, or you're simply an admirer of skilful and talented visual arts, purchasing, owning and living with an original artistic creation is an exciting and extremely personal experience, be it a figure study, ballerina, dancer, nude, a portrait, or any other form of painting or print. It is also both satisfying and fulfilling, a way of seeing the world differently, seeing yourself differently, opening and challenging your thoughts to a different perspective and wider dimension, arousing your senses and stimulating your mind, let alone uniquely transforming an area of your home to one that you can truly be proud of. Art should be viewed, pondered, admired, exhibited, proudly displayed, carefully scrutinized, and in order to benefit to the fullest extent possible, it should be understood from the perspective of its creator - the professional artist. This is obviously not always quite as simple as it seems, though if a viewer has similar feelings to the Artist about art, he or she will connect with his artwork and better understand him. Art is a thing of beauty, not just an investment. Websites, galleries that display artwork, and exhibitions, should hopefully be a friendly and enjoyable place to look at some of his artwork, irrespective of whether you are interested in purchasing a piece.