Lepe Beach and The Solent
Most of Richard's paintings have a strong sense of place, even the ones which were straight out of his imagination. One real place, however, stands out as his richest source of inspiration for his largest single body of work - Lepe beach.
Lepe beach is a short stretch of shingle and sand a few minutes drive from Richard's home in Dibden Purlieu. It stretches east towards the Southampton Water estuary and west to the mouth of the Beaulieu River. The beach itself provides endless material for a painter. Richard loved its textures, the stony spit at low tide and its idiosyncratic visitors. The beach also gives a grandstand view of the vast panorama of the Solent, the channel of open water extending twenty miles from the entrance to Portsmouth harbour, along the whole length of the Isle of Wight, past the spit at Hurst Castle and on to the Needles at the Island's western tip.
The constant procession of vessels also fascinated Richard - warships heading for the Portsmouth naval base, liners and freighters making their way to Southampton port and tankers going into the refinery at Fawley. Then there was the Isle of Wight ferry, countless small motor boats, grand yachts and, closer to the shore, the agile windsurfers. The Island itself is an ever present backdrop to all of this.
The beach faces south, so you look into the light most of the time which makes everything a little more dramatic. It also faces into the prevailing wind so you can see a storm heading straight for you ages before you feel the first raindrop.
Richard moved to the area in the mid 1930s, but he did not start to paint his experience of Lepe Beach regularly until the 1960s, and it was not until he was getting older in the 1980s that that he really became obsessed, painting it right up until his death in 1992.
This set collects together pictures of the beach iteself, views across the Solent from the beach and paintings which document life on the beach or which have been inspired by it.
Figures in a Hurry (1982)
oil on board - 53h × 81w (cm)
Little Girl on the Beach (1982)
oil on board - 14h × 20.2w (cm)
Along the Beach, Lepe (1982)
- 12.7h × 29.2w (cm)
Oil Slick Spraying (1982)
oil on board - 16h × 25w (cm)
Seascape, Misty Morning (1982)
oil on board - 63.5h × 76.2w (cm)
Fishing (1982)
pencil on paper - 8.7h × 13.5w (cm)
Man with a Dog (1982)
oil on board - 19.5h × 24.5w (cm)
Breeze in the Solent (1981)
- 35.8h × 60.3w (cm)
Rain in the Solent (1981)
oil on board - 14.6h × 21.6w (cm)
Fog Lifting (1981)
oil on board - 40.6h × 91.4w (cm)
Low Tide, Lepe (1981)
- 15.2h × 30.5w (cm)
Small White Beach with Bait Diggers (1981)
- 9.5h × 24w (cm)
Low Tide (1981)
oil on board - 20h × 25w (cm)
Telephone Repairs (1981)
oil on board - 23h × 33.5w (cm)
White Solent (1981)
oil on board - 50.8h × 61w (cm)
Bank Holiday (1981)
oil on canvas laid on board - 24.1h × 48.3w (cm)
Yacht Race (1981)
oil on board - 91h × 130w (cm)
Mirage (1981)
oil on board - 13h × 49w (cm)
Clutter of Cars (1981)
oil on board - 24h × 30w (cm)
Misty Day (1981)
oil on board - 20h × 29w (cm)
Changing Breeze (1981)
oil on board - 16h × 30w (cm)
Solent Horizon (1981)
oil on board - 8.5h × 38.5w (cm)
Solent, Evening (1981)
oil on board - 15h × 23.5w (cm)
Container Ship (1980)
oil on board - 9.7h × 17w (cm)
Girl on the Shore (1980)
oil on board - 41h × 61.5w (cm)
Cowes Week (1980)
oil on board - 28.5h × 44.5w (cm)
Solent Fishing (1980)
oil on board - 63.5h × 76.2w (cm)
Wind and Rain (1980)
oil on board - 50h × 76w (cm)
Cloudbank Lifting (1980)
oil on board - 45h × 83w (cm)
Sea Traffic (1980)
oil on board - 44.5h × 55.5w (cm)
The White Sail (1980)
oil and pencil on board - 42h × 46w (cm)
Fisher on the Beach (1980)
oil on board - 30h × 61w (cm)
Dark Solent with Tankers (1980)
oil on board - 50.8h × 76.2w (cm)
Stony Beach with Fishers (1980)
oil on board - 46h × 91.5w (cm)
Fishing at Dusk (1980)
oil on board - 20.3h × 30.5w (cm)
Evening (1980)
oil on board - 40.6h × 91.4w (cm)
Watching the Ship (1980)
pencil on paper - 8.7h × 13.5w (cm)
Weather (1980)
oil on board - 14h × 23w (cm)
Looking for Shells (1980)
pencil on paper - 8.7h × 13.5w (cm)
Play on the Beach (1980)
oil on board - 16h × 23.5w (cm)
Solent (1980)
oil on board - 16h × 24w (cm)
Yachts on the Solent (1980)
oil on board - 14.9h × 34.9w (cm)
The Conversation (1980)
pencil on paper - 8.7h × 13.5w (cm)
The Solent (1980)
oil on board
Sun and Rain (1980)
oil on board - 20h × 33w (cm)
Yachts in a Squall (1980)
oil on board - 29.2h × 64.8w (cm)
Solent from Lepe (c1980)
watercolour
Bathers at Lepe (c1980)
oil on board - 32.5h × 40w (cm)
Young Family (c1980)
- 27.9h × 33w (cm)
Round the Corner, Lepe (1980s)
oil on board - 39h × 61w (cm)
Low Tide, Lepe (1979)
- 17.8h × 22.9w (cm)
Winter Sun (1979)
oil on board
The Breakwater (1979)
oil on board - 11.5h × 25.5w (cm)
Oil Rig in the Solent (1979)
oil on board - 19.5h × 30w (cm)
Low Tide (1979)
pencil on paper - 8.7h × 13.5w (cm)
Beach (1979)
pencil on paper - 8.7h × 13.5w (cm)
Deckchairs, Beaulieu River (1979)
oil on board - 13.5h × 30.3w (cm)
Stormy Evening, Solent (1979)
oil on board - 38.5h × 61w (cm)
Seascape (1979)
oil on board - 21h × 23w (cm)
Before Six (1979)
pencil on paper - 8.7h × 13.5w (cm)
Red Funnel Steamer (1979)
oil on board - 8.9h × 26.3w (cm)
Bait Diggers (1979)
oil on board - 14h × 25.5w (cm)
Shipping in the Solent (1979)
oil on board - 14h × 50w (cm)
Two Girls Trying to Catch a Dog (1979)
oil on board - 18.5h × 31.5w (cm)
Hailstorm on the Solent (1979)
oil on board - 20h × 40w (cm)
Seascape (1979)
oil on board - 14h × 20w (cm)
Marine (1979)
oil on board - 17h × 22.5w (cm)
Snow in the Solent (1979)
oil on board - 44.5h × 59.5w (cm)
Misty Morning in the Solent (1979)
oil on board - 42h × 45.5w (cm)
Bike on the Beach (1979)
oil on board - 15h × 22w (cm)
Low Tide, Beaulieu River (1979)
oil on board - 36h × 56w (cm)
Boats at Lepe (c1979)
watercolour on paper - 27.9h × 40.6w (cm)
Bike on the Beach - sketch (27th Oct 1978)
pencil on paper - 8.3h × 13w (cm)
Approaching Hail Storm (1978)
watercolour on paper - 27h × 36.5w (cm)
Shoes on the Beach, Lepe (1978)
oil on board - 15.9h × 27.3w (cm)
Bait Diggers, Solent (1978)
Watercolour heightened with white laid on board - 23.1h × 37.9w (cm)
Solent (1978)
watercolour on paper - 21h × 37w (cm)
Container Ship (1978)
watercolour on paper - 27.5h × 36w (cm)
Grey Solent (1978)
watercolour on paper laid on board - 27h × 37w (cm)
Spithead Jubilee Review (1977)
oil on panel [REP, 2015] - 85h × 130w (cm)
Old Boathouse, Beaulieu River (1977)
oil on board - 71h × 91w (cm)
Boys Fishing (1977)
oil on chipboard - 13.2h × 18.4w (cm)
Sails in the Solent (1977)
oil on board - 20h × 67.5w (cm)
Seascape (1977)
oil on board - 15.5h × 33w (cm)
Woman on a Beach (1976)
oil on board - 22.6h × 23w (cm)
Sandbank with QE2 (1976)
pencil on paper - 28.8h × 39.1w (cm)
Sandbank in the Solent (1976)
oil on board - 40.6h × 91.4w (cm)
Sand Bar, Lepe (1976)
oil on board - 23h × 49.5w (cm)
Grey Day, Isle of Wight (1976)
oil on board - 14h × 20w (cm)
Lepe Beach, Evening (1976)
oil on board - 11.5h × 43.5w (cm)
Solent Mirage (1976)
oil on board - 50.8h × 61w (cm)
A Breezy Day in the Solent (1976)
oil on board - 16.5h × 33w (cm)
Woman, Fishermen and Tanker (c1976)
pencil on paper
Solent (1975)
watercolour on paper - 19h × 29w (cm)
Green Sea (1975)
watercolour - 16.5h × 24.5w (cm)
Winter Seascape (1975)
oil on board - 16h × 34w (cm)
Tanker off Cowes (1975)
pencil on paper on board - 18h × 20.5w (cm)
Lepe (1975)
watercolour on paper - 19h × 29w (cm)
Thunder in the Solent (1975)
pencil and wash on paper on board - 31h × 41.5w (cm)
Solent Angler (1975)
oil on canvas - 59h × 60w (cm)
Digger, Lepe Beach (1975)
oil on paper on board
Dog and Figures on Beach (1975)
oil on board - 25.4h × 30.5w (cm)
Mouth of the Beaulieu River (1975)
pencil and wash on paper on board - 30h × 40w (cm)
Submarine on the Solent (1975)
pencil on paper laid on board - 22h × 29w (cm)
Skin Divers at Lepe (1974)
oil on board - 25.5h × 40.6w (cm)
Farewell (1974)
oil on board - 15.2h × 61w (cm)
Bait Diggers (1974)
oil on board - 13h × 35w (cm)
The Sunbathers, Lepe Beach (1974)
oil on board - 14h × 19.5w (cm)
Sunset Beaulieu River (1974)
oil on board - 11h × 17.5w (cm)
The Raft, Lepe (c1974)
- 91.5h × 96.5w (cm)
Spring in Lepe (29th Apr 1973)
pencil on paper - 12.7h × 18w (cm)
Lepe Beach (1973)
oil on board - 21.5h × 32.8w (cm)
Molly on the Shore (1973)
oil on panel - 46h × 76w (cm)
A View of a Beach and Estuary (c1973)
oil on board - 20.3h × 30.5w (cm)
Evening, Lepe (9th Aug 1972)
pen on paper - 12.7h × 18w (cm)
Sketch_05-05 Ship aground, Solent (1st Jun 1972)
pencil and pen on paper
Dark Solent (1972)
oil on panel - 21.5h × 30.5w (cm)
Lepe 1 a.m. 10/2/1972 (1972)
oil on board - 17.8h × 36.8w (cm)
Solent from Lepe (1972)
oil on board - 18.5h × 32w (cm)
Ship Aground in the Solent (1972)
oil on panel - 15h × 65.5w (cm)
Morning in the Solent (1972)
oil on panel - 35.5h × 61w (cm)
Seashore at Lepe (1972)
oil on panel - 35.6h × 61w (cm)
Lepe Beach (1972)
oil on panel - 22.5h × 30.5w (cm)
On the Beach (1972)
oil on panel - 30.5h × 61w (cm)
Silver Morning, Solent (1972)
oil on canvas - 51h × 76w (cm)
Watchers on a Beach (1971)
oil on board - 76.2h × 101.6w (cm)
Evening, Lepe (1971)
oil on board - 49.5h × 74.5w (cm)
Figures on a Beach (1971)
oil on panel - 45h × 66.5w (cm)
Low Tide, Lepe (1970)
oil on board - 13h × 23w (cm)
Tall Sails (1970)
oil on canvas - 30.5h × 46w (cm)
Solent, looking towards the Needles from Lepe (1970)
oil on board - 16.5h × 79w (cm)
Lepe Beach (1970)
oil on board - 57.5h × 74w (cm)
Road Down to the Sea (c1970)
oil on board - 20h × 30.5w (cm)
Tankers and Cars at Lepe (c1970)
- 25.4h × 40.6w (cm)
Tankers and Cars at Lepe (c1970)
- 30.5h × 40.6w (cm)
Gathering Storm, Solent (1969)
oil on board - 20.3h × 30.5w (cm)
Solent (10.00am, 14 October, 1969) (1969)
oil on board - 16h × 43.5w (cm)
Low Tide, Misty Day, Lepe (Beaulieu River) (1969)
oil on board - 31.5h × 92w (cm)
Rain Approaching Solent (Lepe) (1969)
oil on board - 15h × 63w (cm)
Thunder in the Solent (1969)
oil on board - 61.5h × 76w (cm)
Tanker in the Solent (1969)
oil on canvas - 25h × 35w (cm)
Lepe at 9-10 a.m. 3rd October 1969 (1969)
oil on panel - 21.5h × 35w (cm)
Mirage (1969)
oil on board - 10.8h × 26.7w (cm)
Lady with Dog, Shipping in the Solent (1969)
oil on board - 25.5h × 46w (cm)
Giant Tanker (1968)
oil on panel - 15h × 28.5w (cm)
Tanker in the Solent (1968)
oil on board - 15h × 29w (cm)
Tanker Off Cowes (1968)
oil on driftwood panel - 11.5h × 48.5w (cm)
Fog Clearing at Lepe (1968)
oil on canvas - 25h × 61w (cm)
The Great Tanker (1968)
oil on canvas - 76.5h × 102w (cm)
Stormy Morning in the Solent (1968)
oil on board - 28.5h × 39.5w (cm)
'France' Rounding the Brambles (1968)
oil on board - 12.7h × 15.2w (cm)
Yachts off Cowes (1967)
oil on board - 20h × 66w (cm)
The Needles (1966)
oil on board - 21h × 62.5w (cm)
Lepe (1965)
oil on board - 19.7h × 30.5w (cm)
Rainy Day Isle of Wight (1965)
oil on board - 40.64h × 50.8w (cm)
Solent, Beaulieu River (1965)
oil on canvas - 100h × 126w (cm)
Beach Scene, Isle of Wight (1965)
oil on board - 29.2h × 62.2w (cm)
Entrance to Beaulieu River - Painted Sketch (1963)
oil on board - 15.5h × 26w (cm)
Solent from Lepe (1963)
oil on board - 12.1h × 16.5w (cm)
Mavis and Philippa, Lepe, early morning (1962)
oil on thin board - 15h × 27.2w (cm)
Lepe Beach (1962)
- 20.32h × 67.31w (cm)
Early Morning, Lepe (1960)
oil on board - 19h × 34w (cm)
Waterspout on the Solent (1954)
oil on canvas - 51h × 61w (cm)
Choppy Weather on the Solent (1934)
oil on canvas - 50h × 61w (cm)