Paul Riley

Mastering the medium

Watercolour, an endlessly fascinating medium.

It is only in my mature years that I have fully appreciated the true diversity of watercolour as a medium.

My father was the first to introduce me to the complexities and techniques by teaching me to lay a wash aged five. Since then I have continuously experimented and tried to push my skill level with more and more challenges.

Interestingly, I have probably learnt most about the medium by teaching and writing about it for the last thirty years.

A Tale of Two Rivers

“The two rivers depicted in this exhibition are the river Vltava in Prague, the home river of my wife Tina, and my own “home” river – The River Dart.

Last year I had an exhibition of watercolours in Prague, the highlight of which were several images of the Vltava, which focused on the rafters who used to ply the river for centuries up until the 1940’s.

The paintings were a form of “nostalgie” for the time and a celebration of the extraordinary character and strength of the men who piloted these craft.

Paul Riley Watercolours, A Retrospective - Prague 2011

This exhibition will demonstrate the versatility of watercolour as a medium. The fluidity and fragility of a flower petal, the movement of dancers, fleeting atmospheric landscapes to topographical paintings from the Himalaya series larger than a meter in size.

The special focus of the show will be a series of paintings inspired by a visit to the Customs house museum at Vyton where he came across the raft men of the Vltava.