Bonfires | Flames | Smoke
A complex subject! Fire often signifies the spiritual and the flame of creativity for Richard, but conversely it represents destruction (War) and pollution (Industry) as well as joy and celebration with fireworks and candles, and even these can be fraught with a sense of danger.
The fires or plumes of smoke are often clearly visible in the paintings, but others are just specks of light or black smudges in the distance. You sometimes have to work quite hard to find them, but when you do, you realise that they are not just incidental.
Chesil Beach from Rodwell (1974)
oil on board - 40.6h x 61w (cm)
Southampton Water (1973)
oil on panel - 51h x 71w (cm)
Nocturnal Garden (1971)
oil on board - 31.5h x 74w (cm)
Thunder in the Solent (1969)
oil on board - 61.5h x 76w (cm)
Tanker in the Solent (1969)
oil on canvas - 25h x 35w (cm)
Steam Train (the last perhaps) and Aeroplane (1969)
oil on board - 46.5h x 61w (cm)
Hole in the Wall (1968)
oil on board - 27.9h x 61w (cm)
Wreck and Landslip, Yorkshire Coast (1968)
oil on canvas - 41h x 61w (cm)
Yachts off Cowes (1967)
oil on board - 20h x 66w (cm)
Sun Rising through Mist, Southampton Water (1967)
oil on canvas laid on board - 45.1h x 58.4w (cm)
Sir Francis Chichester’s Return Celebration at Buckler's Hard on 17th Sept 1967 (1967)
oil on board - 52h x 68w (cm)
Tanker on Fire (1965)
oil on canvas - 30.5h x 40.6w (cm)
Haworth, Yorkshire (1964)
oil on board - 27.94h x 35.56w (cm)
Lincolnshire Farm (1963)
oil on board - 75h x 126w (cm)
Bowden Hill (1963)
oil on canvas - 51h x 76w (cm)
Southampton Docks (c1963)
oil on oil paper - 13h x 17.7w (cm)
Dream Landscape (1960s)
ink on paper
The Messenger (1962)
oil on board - 94.5h x 125w (cm)
The Whitby Lights (1962)
oil on board - 35.2h x 58.1w (cm)
Chatsworth to Represent Sheffield at Play (1961)
oil on canvas - 304.8h x 426.7w (cm)