Fletcher Sibthorp -Selected Artworks 2022

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