Fletcher Sibthorp - Selected Artworks 2020

FLETCHER SIBTHORP 

QUIET SPACE SERIES - NEW AND SELECTED WORKS 2020


FLETCHERSIBTHORP.COM


NEW AND SELECTED WORKS 2020

ENTROPY SERIES

Ataraxia 

Oil and mixed media on aluminium panel 48 x 48 INCHES | 122. x 122 CM 

2

The Defiant 

Oil and charcoal on Mylar 32 x 33.5 INCHES | 81 x 85 CM 

6

The Darkest Light study 

Mixed media on Mylar 30 x 30 INCHES | 76 x 76 CM 

7

Entropy study I 

Oil and charcoal on Mylar 30 x 30 INCHES | 76 x 76 CM 

10

Entropy III study 

Oil and mixed media on Mylar 17 x 17 INCHES | 43 x 43 CM 

11

Entropy II study 

Oil and carbon on Mylar 16 x 16 INCHES | 41 x 41 CM 

12

A Certain Slant of Light II 


13

The Breath of Shadows III 

Oil and mixed media on panel 35 x 35 INCHES | 89 x 89 CM 

14

Bluer Than Velvet Was the Night 

Oil and mixed media on Mylar 8.5 x 8.5 INCHES | 22 x 22 CM 

16

The Night Draws Down II 

Oil on canvas mounted on board 8.5 x 8.5 INCHES | 22 x 22 CM 

17

The Breath of Shadows 

Oil on canvas mounted on board 15 x 15 INCHES | 38 x 38 CM 

18

The Light She Brings 

Oil on panel 16 x 16 INCHES | 41 x 41 CM 

19

QUIET SPACE SERIES

There, Inside my Head 


22

The Secret Admirer study 


24

The Weight of a Letter II 


25

Emily With Beaded Choker 

Oil and palladium leaf on panel 14.5 x 12.5 INCHES | 37 x 32 CM 

26

Emily with Beaded Choker II 

Oil and palladium leaf on panel 16 x 13 INCHES / 40 x 34 CM 

28

Emily with Lace Choker III 

Oil and palladium leaf on panel 15 x 13 INCHES | 39 x 34 CM 

29

Emily With Beaded Choker III 


30

Portrait of Joao 

Oil and palladium leaf on panel 12 x 12 INCHES | 31 x 30 CM 

32

Waves 

Oil and silver leaf on panel 13 x 12 INCHES | 34 x 31 CM 

33

Her Mother’s Dress 

Oil and silver leaf on canvas panel 16 x 12 INCHES | 40 x 30 CM 

34

The Key 

Oil and palladium leaf on canvas panel 21 x 18.5 INCHES | 54 x 47 CM 

36

The Summer Long 

Oil and gold leaf on canvas panel 22 x 28 INCHES | 55 x 70 CM 

37

Emily With Lace Choker 

Oil on on canvas panel 19 x 15 INCHES | 48 x 39 CM 

38

Zoe VII 

Oil on canvas panel 30 x 39 INCHES | 76 x 100 CM 

40

Elemental VI 

Oil on copper panel 19 x 39 INCHES | 49 x 98 CM 

41

Zoe VIII 


42

A Small Beautiful Thing Catches the Eye 

Oil and silver leaf on canvased panel 29 x 46 INCHES | 73 x 117 CM 

44

The Idleness of Spring 

Oil and gold leaf on canvas panel 20 x 29INCHES | 52 x 74 CM 

45

Aureole 

Oil and silver leaf on canvased panel 30 x 48 INCHES | 77 x 121 CM 

48

Chrysanthemum (detail) 


50

Zoe XIII 


51

The Eloquence of Night 

Oil and silver leaf on panel 16 x 16 INCHES | 41 x 40 

52

The Edge of a Beautiful Day 


53

Angel Wood 

Oil and palladium leaf on canvas panel 29 x 51 INCHES | 74 x 117 CM 

54

The Pagoda Earing 

Oil and silver leaf on canvased panel 18.5 x 13.5 INCHES | 47 x 34 CM 

56

Lacrimea Rerum 

Oil and silver leaf on canvas panel 24 x 19 INCHES | 62 x 49.5 C 

57

The Veil 


58

The Beaded Hairclasp 

Oil on board 14 x 12 INCHES | 35 x 31 CM 

60

Zoe - Nothing Gold Can Stay 


61

Limbic study 

Mixed media and silver leaf on paper 22 x 22 INCHES | 56 x 56 CM 

62

Limbic II study 


63

The Nucleus Accumbens study 


64

The Quiet Before the Draw of Breath IX 

Oil and gold leaf on panel 35 x 35 INCHES | 90 x 90 CM 

65

The Quiet Before the Draw of Breath VI 


66

The Quiet Before the Draw of Breath V 


67

Elemental 

Oil and pastel on copper panel 39 x 39 INCHES | 99 x 99 CM 

68

Elemental II 

Oil and pastel on copper panel 39 x 39 INCHES | 99 x 99 CM 

69

The Pheonix and Crysanthemum 

Oil and silver leaf on panel 16 x 14 INCHES | 40 x 35 CMva 

70

Crysanthemum II 


71

Wallpaper 1 

Oil on canvas mounted on board 22 x 16 INCHES | 56 x 40.5 CM 

72

Ulysses 


73

The Unrequieted 

Oil and oxidised silver leaf on panel 19 x 16 INCHES | 49 x 40 CM 

74

The Fan and Mantilla 

Oil and gold leaf on panel 20 x 17 INCHES | 51.5 x 42.5 CM 

76

The Quiet Before the Draw of Breath Colour Study 


77

Ember II 


78

Gold Choker II 

Oil and gold leaf on panel 15 x 12 inches | 38 x 30 cms 

79

Everything you Touch Surely Dies 


80

Weathered Wall 


82

Afterlight 


83

The Japanese Stencil 

Oil and copper leaf on canvas panel 13 x 10 INCHES | 34 x 25 CM 

84

The Frailty of Human Hearts and Flowers 


86

The Reply 


87

Godiva 


88

Male Study - St Sebastian 


90

The Longing 

Oil, gold and silver leaf on panel 16 x 12 INCHES | 41 x 30.5 CM 

91

Talitha 

Oil and gold leaf on panel 15 x 15 inches | 39 x 37 cms 

92

A Quieter Space 

Oil and silver leaf on panel 20 x 25 inches | 50 x 64 cms 

93

Shadow Room 

Oil and gold leaf on panel 18 x 13 INCHES | 44.5 x 33.5 CM 

94

Primavera 


95

Boy Look at You, Looking at Me colour study 


96

Blue Nail Varnish colour study 


97

Offertorium 

Oil and gold leaf on canvas panel 22 x 19 inches | 55 x 48 cms 

98

SARGASSO SERIES

Sargasso V 

Oil, wax and acrylic gels on aluminium panel 48 x 48 INCHES | 122 x 122 CM 

102

Sargasso IV 

Oil, wax and acrylic gels on aluminium panel 48 x 48 INCHES | 122 x 122 CM 

103

Sargasso II preparatory painting 


104

Sargasso I preparatory painting II 


106

Sargasso VI preparatory painting 


107

Sargasso III study 


108

Sargasso IV study 

Oil and charcoal on Mylar 26.5 x 23.5 INCHES | 67 x 60 CM 

109

FLETCHER takes a large piece of charcoal and roughly marks the area that will eventually 

become a woman’s outward gaze. Charcoal splinters fall to the floor as he works across 

the panel, filling the space with expanses of shadow that will form the basis of the 

composition. 

Dipping a brush in charcoal powder, he lays down more form; a sweeping gesture marking 

the jaw line, another marking the strands of hair before dipping the same brush in water 

to move the pigment across the surface. He ignores the drips and obvious flaws the water 

makes but works with a rag in one hand and a brush in the other, standing back for a moment 

before setting upon the drawing again, carving out the figure with both light and dark. 

In pursuit of the ‘the poetry of figure and the soul within’, Fletcher has spent a lifetime 

honing his art, experimenting with and developing many painting techniques, drawing from 

the classical to the abstract. Each skill another potential tool to convey feeling or add a 

layer of complexity and expression, in service of the ultimate aim: to draw the viewer into 

a moment or to spark a feeling of recognition.. 

”For my part, I am often trying to capture that moment of contemplation, where the 

viewer is drawn in; one which stirs emotion, or provokes thought. Perhaps it’s something 

simple...sensory, or maybe it rekindle a memory or provokes…” Fletcher’s work seeks out that essence that makes us human... that bit of our soul 

that shines through in a fleeting moment. 

Fletcher Sibthorp was born 1967 in Bricketwood, Hertfordshire into a family of engineers. His grandfather, raised in the East End of London, had 

aspirations to be an artist but had his creative ambitions thwarted by the need to provide for his seven siblings. He became an engineer’s apprentice, 

establishing his own thriving factory in Hertfordshire, making precision parts for the likes of Rolls Royce. He was an inventor and channelled his 

creativity into building new machines and running a successful business. Throughout, he carried on his art, seeking solace in the meditative act of 

painting. He was self-taught, learning his craft through ‘how to’ books and trial and error, challenging himself by copying portraits by his favourite 

artists and art book plates. 

As often happens, the painting gene skips a generation. So, when his grandson showed a natural ability to draw, he found himself a tutor to a willing 

student eager to create. Oil paints, engineers’ drawings and art manuals were fertile surroundings for Fletcher’s creativity whilst growing up. He was 

often found with a pencil in hand, copying from his grandfather’s books and his own well thumbed comics, copying the likes Judge Dread, Stan Lee’s 

Spiderman and his favourite, Silver Surfer. He nostalgically thinks of these as his Marvel Bargue Plates. He also found inspiration on the factory floor 

capturing the movement of the engineers huddled over lathes and workbenches as they produced precision parts, their movements assured and accomplished 

- artists in their own craft. 

”Love what you paint” was his grandfather’s advice, so it was no surprise that the likes of Darth Vader, Stormtroopers and movie posters started 

to be portrayed. His father’s science fiction novels and the iconic Omni magazine, with artists like H R Geiger the creator of Alien, also influenced 

his ‘shading’ and subject matter. Star Wars was a massive influence, to the point where after watching a documentary on its making and seeing the

special effects scenery painters at work, Fletcher asked his dad: “Can I go to California and work for Industrial Light and Magic?” The idea of using his art to 

make a living seemed from that moment to be a real option. When asked what he wanted to do when he grew up, he said that he wanted to become an ‘illustrator’ 

- which to the eleven year old sounded like a real job. 

Following an Art Foundation course at Hertfordshire College of Art and Design, Fletcher embarked on an Illustration degree at Kingston University. Known 

for its comprehensive teaching in the classical arts; plein air, life drawing and compositional rigour, the training was akin to a traditional fine art degree. Unlike 

most students, he worked on large scale stretched canvas - portraits and moving figures captured in oil paint and charcoal, his fascination with depicting the 

human form ever present. 

Commissions followed soon after graduating, from the likes of Penguin Books, Random House,The Royal Ballet, The Royal Shakespeare Company, Chase Manhattan 

Bank and others. But Fletcher’s passion was always to be as an exhibiting artist. His interest in anatomy and movement defined his first solo show in 

1992. And, really, little has changed since. He says: “To interpret weight, form, light and then the flow and line of the human form is the challenge. To create the 

body with as much economy of line as possible is the ultimate goal.” 

At the start of his career, Fletcher found rich source material in gymnastics, sports and dance. A watershed moment came in 1995 when he was asked by 

the Sadler’s Wells Theatre to paint a series based around Flamenco dance company Paco Pena. This began a series of over a hundred paintings and drawings 

celebrating the art of Flamenco. Later, Fletcher switched focus to the world of ballet. He spent many hours in the rehearsal rooms, determined to reflect the 

craft of the dancers as much as the glamour of their performances. This led to a long collaboration with The Royal Ballet and Darcey Bussell, who first 

modelled for him when she was just 23 and consequently invited him to attend her last rehearsal there in 2007. The finished painting from those studies, 

’Darcey in Three Movements’, helped raise funds for the Royal Ballet School, where it was commissioned by Bussell to hang. An honourable mention was 

bestowed that year by the school and a plaque with his name on placed in The White Lodge. He was also given the honour of Artist in Residence at the school 

that year. 

These high-profile projects bolstered Fletcher’s growing reputation. With solo exhibitions in 2005-2008 with a Cork Street gallery, he won the Fine Art Trade 

Guild’s poll as the most successful living British print artist. He has also won and has been given honourable mentions, won Best Nude and Chairman’s Choice 

for his artworks several years in a row at the ARC Salon – an internationally acclaimed competition based on representational figurative art. 

What really engages Fletcher is unravelling the mystery of human condition. This is his life’s work. New series of artworks include paintings based on Fletcher’s 

time in Bermuda and his lifelong love of water. Inspired by the crystal clear waters of the Sargasso Sea and the hidden coves and inlets of this mysterious and 

magical island, Fletcher has embarked on capturing the essence of experiencing the ocean and its myriad symbolism. He says ‘Water to me represents many 

aspects of humanity, from basic survival to myths, evolution, birth and death. Submerged and floating in water is the closest most of us come to an other 

worldly experience. I wanted to capture that feeling most of us have had along with touching the deep symbolism that pervades the oceans” 

Interestingly, these paintings sit alongside others that are much more still. Evolving around the idea of entropy; the gradual decline from form to disorder, to 

create and then destroy, then to build again using the elements of water, fire, air and earth. 

vHis approach is multi-layered, a slow building of paint and texture; to observe the ‘infinite smallness and bigness of things’ and to celebrate the ‘music of 

chance’ whilst paying homage to centuries old painting traditions. Pieces such as The Breath of Shadows and The Light She Brings are – on one level – simple 

portraits of female figures. But, says Fletcher, don’t mistake simple for easy. “Even though the work, in its content, is becoming simpler, the paintings are harder 

to resolve, as the underlying expression becomes harder to achieve; layer upon layer of paint applied and rubbed off, then applied again” he says. “Even I don’t 

know how they will develop. They take on their own life, creating their own spirituality.”

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY FLETCHER SIBTHORP 

Communication Arts Illustration Annual. 35. 1994. pp. p87 and 108–109. CA published awards in 3 Annuals ISBN 0010-351: 

Step-by-Step Graphics magazine: pp. 77-82Davies, Susan (January/February 1996). “Motion Pictures / The Need to Develop” (in English) (USA magazine) 

Communication Arts Illustration Annual. 37. 1996. pp. p27. 

Communication Arts Illustration Annual. 38. California 94306I: Coyne & Blanchard. 1997. pp. p96. 

Art Business Today (UK: Fine Art Trade Guild): pp. p54-59Ruston, Annabelle (October 2005). “The cream of the crop” (in English) (magazine) 

Ballet.co Magazine. Carole Edrich (June/July2005).“Fletcher Sibthorp - ‘Painting Passion’” 

Passion - Fletcher Sibthorp -Paintings, Drawings and Studies 1998-2005. UK: Buckingham Fine Art Publishers.. ISBN 0954938208. 

Art Business Today (UK: Fine Art Trade Guild): pp. p38-45 and p9 Ruston, Annabelle (October 2006). “A cut above” (inEnglish) (magazine) 

Art Business Today (UK: Fine Art Trade Guild): pp. p54-59Ruston, Annabelle (October 2005). “The cream of the crop” (in English) (magazine. See also 

The Elmbridge Lifestyle Magazine (plus 6 other titles across Surrey) (Sheengate Publishing Limited= UK): pp. p17.Cordrey, Carol (February 2008). “Art 

Movement” (in English) (magazine). 

The Artists and Illustrator Magazine (January 2009)Self Portrait p98 (in English) (magazine). 

WIKIPEDIA 

Wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fletcher_Sibthorp

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS 

1992 ‘In Motion’ - London, UK 

2000 ‘Quiet Space’ - The China Club, Hong Kong 

2000 ‘Flamenco I’ - Tokyo, Japan 

2002 ‘Flamenco II’ - Tokyo, Japan 

2004 ‘Flamenco III’ - Kyoto, Japan 

2005 ‘Passion’ - Studies in Dance - Cork Street Gallery, London, 

2006 Selected Works - Medici Gallery, Cork Street, London 

Selected Works - Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan 


Selected Works - Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan 


2009 Selected Works - Shibuya Ku, Tokyo, Japan 


2015 Finalist of the 11th ARC ( Art Renewal Centre ) Salon in two 

catagories, Chairmans Choice 

Joint exhibition Winter Collective – Albermarle Gallery 

Joint Exhibition - Blackheath Gallery Summer Collection 

2016 Solo exhibition of paintings based on the figure, Belgravia 

Gallery, Mayfair 

2018 Solo exhibition of paintings based on the figure, Catto Gallery, 

London 

Finalist of the 13th ARC ( Art Renewal Centre ) Salon 

2019 Finalist of the 14th ARC ( Art Renewal Centre ) Salon 

2020 Mini Solo exhibition of paintings based on the figure, 

Catto Gallery, London 

Selected Works - Shibuya Ku, Tokyo, Japan 

2012 ‘Transition’ Selected Works - Heartbreak Gallery, London 

2013 Ninth solo exhibition Obsession of Art Gallery Tokyo Japan 

2014 Winner of the 10th ARC ( Art Renewal Centre ) Salon in three 

catagories; Best Nude, Chairmans Choice Award and 

Honorable Mention in the Figurative Category Award 

Joint Exhibition - Blackheath Gallery Spring Collection 

Joint Exhibition - Blackheath Gallery Winter Collection

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Fletcher Sibthorp - Selected Artworks 2020

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