Fletcher Sibthorp -Selected Artworks 2022

FLETCHER SIBTHORP

QUIET SPACE SERIES - NEW AND SELECTED WORKS 2022

FLETCHER SIBTHORP

FLETCHERSIBTHORP.COM

FLETCHER SIBTHORP

NEW AND SELECTED WORKS 2022

In the Entropy series, I explore the boundaries between traditional classical techniques and contemporary practice in

portraiture. The paintings once traditionally painted are then broken down and repainted using a number of expressive

and serendipitous methods. It is then sanded down and broken down again, using the elements of water and earth to

be built up again - the idea that in order to create you have to destroy.

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

4

The Darkest Light study

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

5

The Reveries II

Oil and wax on scrim panel 12 x 10 INCHES | 30 x 25 CM

6

Violets in Your Eyes study

Oil and wax on scrim panel 12 x 10 INCHES | 30 x 25 CM

7

Entropy study I

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

8

Entropy III study

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

9

Written on the Sky II

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

11

Nothing She Can

Oil and mixed media on cement panel 24 x 24 INCHES | 60 x 60 CM

12

The Ghost of You

Oil on scrim mounted on panel 55 x 47 INCHES | 140 x 120 CM

13

Entropy II study

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

14

A Certain Slant of Light II


15

The Breath of Shadows III

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

16

Bluer Than Velvet Was the Night

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

18

The Night Draws Down II

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

19

The Breath of Shadows

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

20

The Light She Brings

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

21

Appricity

Oil and mixed media on panel 16 x 16 INCHES | 40.5 x 40.5 CM

22

Get My Pretty Name Out of Your Mouth

Oil and copper leaf on panel 12 x 10 INCHES | 30 x 25 CM

23

Endgame

Oil and mixed media on panel 16 x 16 INCHES | 40.5 x 40.5 CM

24

Entropy IV

Oil and Wax on scrim panel 12 x 12 INCHES | 30 x 30 CM

25

The Warmth of You


26

The Darkest Light


27

Solstice study


28

White Sunshine study


29

Whistlin’ my Name


30

The Sicilian


31

Magnolia III


32

Another Life (detail)


33

THE END OF ALL OUR EXPLORING V and III studies


34

THE END OF ALL OUR EXPLORING II and IV studies


35

THE END OF ALL OUR EXPLORING study

Oil, gold carbon on Mylar 9 x 6 INCHES | 23 x 15 CM

36

Skull (for the Love of Dog)

Oil on paper 7 x 5INCHES | 18 x 13v CM

37

Quiet Space represents for me, captured moments of human introspection and frailty, instants which exist and then are

gone, whether an expression, the way light falls and catches the face, or a simple portrait. The simplicity of the paintings

allows the viewer to naturally attach their own experiences and thoughts to the work. There is an underlying narrative in

most of the pieces, but this is subtle - the contemporary paring-down juxtaposing the classical references and themes.

QUIET SPACE SERIES

Emily With Beaded Choker

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

40

The Secret Admirer study


42

The Weight of a Letter II


43

Emily with Beaded Choker II

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

44

Emily with Lace Choker III

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

45

Emily With Beaded Choker III


46

Portrait of Joao

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

48

Waves

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

49

Her Mother’s Dress

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

50

The Key

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

52

The Summer Long

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

53

Emily With Lace Choker

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

54

Zoe VII

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

56

Elemental VI

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

57

Chrysanthemum (detail)


58

Zoe XIII


59

Zoe VIII


60

A Small Beautiful Thing Catches the Eye

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

62

The Idleness of Spring

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

65

Aureole

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

66

The Eloquence of Night

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

68

The Edge of a Beautiful Day


69

Angel Wood

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

70

The Pagoda Earing

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

72

Lacrimea Rerum

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

73

The Veil


74

The Beaded Hairclasp

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

76

Zoe - Nothing Gold Can Stay


77

Limbic study

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

78

Limbic II study


79

The Nucleus Accumbens study


80

The Quiet Before the Draw of Breath IX

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

81

The Quiet Before the Draw of Breath VI


82

The Quiet Before the Draw of Breath V


83

Elemental

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

84

Elemental II

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

85

The Pheonix and Crysanthemum

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

86

Crysanthemum II


87

Wallpaper 1

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

88

Ulysses


89

The Unrequieted

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

90

The Fan and Mantilla

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

92

The Quiet Before the Draw of Breath Colour Study


93

Ember II


94

Gold Choker II

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

95

Everything you Touch Surely Dies


96

Weathered Wall


98

Afterlight


99

The Frailty of Human Hearts and Flowers


100

The Reply


101

Belladonna


102

Godiva


104

The Japanese Stencil

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

105

Male Study - St Sebastian


106

The Longing

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

107

Talitha

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

108

A Quieter Space

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

109

Shadow Room

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

110

Primavera


111

All That I Have Done


112

Blue Nail Varnish colour study


113

Offertorium

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

114

v

Inspired by the crystal clear seas around Bermuda, these initial drawing represent the haunting beauty of water and

it symbolism; from basic survival, myth, evolution, birth, death. Submerged in water is the closest most of us get to an

other worldly experience

SARGASSO SERIES

Sargasso V

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

118

Sargasso IV

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

119

Sargasso I preparatory painting II


120

Sargasso II preparatory painting


121

Sargasso III study


122

Sargasso IV study

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

123

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 2022

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