Description
A remarkable impressionist oil painting which proves that one little splash of colour will dominate any painting. This is a stunning oil on canvas painting by the renowned marine artist, John Ambrose. A beautiful landscape in which the artist has put one very small figure on the far bank of the lake pictured and the simple use of a splash of deep red, signifying the walkers’ coat, draws one’s eye straight to it making it the focus of the whole picture. Sheer brilliance! The picture is in its original frame which measures 55 x 45 cm (21.5″ x 17.5″). With the painting itself measuring 49 x 39 cm (19″ x 15.5″).
John Ambrose RSMA British 1931 – 2010
Ambrose was born in Brierley Hill in the West Midlands and had a career in engineering before moving to the coast of Cornwall where he spent the rest of his life. He loved the water and most of his paintings feature water in some form or other. He is renowned as one of this countries best modern impressionist painters with a very astute use of colour within his paintings. His paintings are highly sought after by collectors from The UK, Germany, Italy and The US. He was elected to the Royal Society of Marine Artists in 1990 and also exhibited at The Royal Institute of Painters in Oil.
The following is an excerpt from a newspaper article featuring this painting….
One small splash of red that makes the picture.
This beautiful landscape painting is on first appearance quite simple, yet there is something about this picture that initially is easily missed. There is one small detail that differentiates this artist from other landscape artists as someone quite special. He has applied one small splash of colour right at the centre of this painting that, for me at least, makes this picture quite brilliant. A good artist can paint any scene and make one wish that our own attempts could look as good as this one. But occasionally an artist comes along that uses his or her imagination to boost the appearance of their painting with something so minimalist that, whilst it is crucial to the success of the picture, one barely notices at the time that it is there at all! No surprise then that the artist of this painting was elected as a member of at least two Royal Societies.
The painting is a landscape, no surprise there then to my regular readers. Being a lover of landscapes this one for me really stands out. To the foreground is a lake or river, we know not which, with massive trees to the far bank dwarfing the solitary person in the scene. This would be a very good painting under any circumstances, the trees are beautifully painted, the water looks good enough, given the current climate, to just dive into and the sky is wonderfully observed, although perhaps a little threatening. But what makes this picture so adorable is the tiny figure walking along the far, grassy riverbank. It is a lady in a red raincoat. That simple dab of bright red slightly off centre is what draws you into the picture and sets it apart from other more “ordinary” landscape paintings. I love it! Come along and see what you think.
John Ambrose RSMA ROI 1931-2010
John Ambrose was born in 1931 in Brierley Hill then in Staffordshire, now part of the West Midlands. He always showed an interest in art and had an ability to draw and paint from a very early age, he went on to study art and was much influenced by D A Chatterton of Plymouth although his early adult years were spent in an engineering career. Throughout his engineering career he maintained his hobby of painting and during his many holidays and shorter visits to Cornwall always found plenty to paint and his impressionist style suited the coastal views to be found all over the Cornish coastline. Eventually Ambrose was to move and settle in Cornwall renting a cottage and studio in St Ives where he lived for over 30 years. He has exhibited all over the world including three years running at major German exhibitions in 1981, 1982 and 1983 establishing a firm following in that country. From 1992 onwards, he made many working trips to Venice to capture that unique vista over and over again. He is best known for his marine scenes and most of his works, but not all, feature a body of water of some sort. He exhibited at the Royal Society of Marine Artists from 1985, was featured at the Royal Society of Painters in Oil in 1989 and was elected to the RSMA in 1990. John Ambrose died in 2010 in his beloved Cornwall.
