Richard Stanley

 

I was born in Warrnambool, Victoria, in 1961 into a creative family. My father was a professional musician, my mother was a landscape artist painting into her 90s. I loved art from an early age and was always encouraged by my older brother Robert, who is an amazing surrealist painter in Western Australia who I owe a lot of my success to. 
We would draw, paint and make animated movies together. I then progressed on to acrylic painting through high school where I received top marks for art. This also drove me to keep it up, so I progressed on to oil paint on stretched canvas which was so exciting.

I studied Painting and Drawing at Claremont School of Art as a Diploma, in Western Australia, as well as an extensive TAFE art education.

I love the subtle tones and colours in both water and sky so have a great love for landscape. Being a surfer I particularly like coastal scenes. I am  inspired by early morning and late afternoon when the shadows are longer and there is more colour in the sky. I enjoy creating atmosphere and depth in my work as I want to hold the viewer's gaze and get them to look all around the painting, discovering things they might not have seen initially. Reflections on the water is another area I love to paint.
 

My wife Jennie and I and our 3 kids at the time, moved from Perth, WA to Tasmania in 1998 and bought a turn of the century (circa 1905) building on the main street of Cygnet. (the first general store in Cygnet)

We opened our own Art Gallery one year later ’Stanley’s Studio/Gallery’ in Cygnet, located in the Huon Valley of Tasmania, and have been operating ever since. I became a professional artist then and have exhibited in many exhibitions and art awards (see below) with success in winning two Major Awards, Nine Peoples Choice and three Mayors Choice Awards over the years including several Acquisitional Awards.

I work mainly with oil paint on stretched canvas.
I also produce a series of Fine Art Prints both on canvas (Thank you Full Gamut ) and paper both Limited and Open Editions, also a range of Greeting Cards.