Ross Eccles

Ross Eccles, born November 13th 1937, is a contemporary English artist and painter. He has been based in Dublin, Ireland since 1971.

Life and Work

Ross Eccles was born in Blackburn, England in 1937. He was educated at Clitheroe Royal Grammar School and later studied Architecture at the Birmingham School of Architecture. He practiced as an architect for 30 years, first in England and then in Canada, before settling in Ireland where he ran his own practice up until 1992. He has been based in Ireland for almost 40 years, since 1971, retiring from Architecture in 1992 in order to devote himself to art full-time [Ross Eccles Biography taken from Art Decor Gallery website www.artdecorwhalley.co.uk] . Ross’s often twisted, abstract style of painting is a reaction to the rigidity and structure that he faced as an architect. His architectural background has undoubtedly influenced his artworks and his subjects frequently include familiar architectural landmarks, although these are painted in an entirely new light that reflects the artist’s own vision, with bold colours and broken lines. His paintings are created to provide a fresh perspective on otherwise mundane subjects and to free the viewer from the confinements and limitations of everyday existence.

Ross often gives demonstrations to school students ["Artist's Visit", May 01st 2008,Clitheroe Advertiser, www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk] in the hope that he can get them to see the world around them in a new way and change their mindset in regards to life and art. He believes that conventional teaching “moulds people into similar patterns and suppresses natural individuality” [Ross Eccles Biography, www.rosseccles.com] .

His early work and style was influenced by his architectural training and was in the form of architectural sketches and watercolours. In recent years Ross’s style has become looser and his brushstrokes more obvious and less defined as he works more and more with acrylic paint. There is a lot of movement within his works and an emphasis on the importance of colour and light over line. Rather than recreating the subject precisely he wants to re-create the sense of what the eye captures when it looks at the subject and merge that with an element of fantasy to create a fresh vision of an everyday subject matter. His main influences include the Surrealists, the Cubists and the Impressionists. A book about the artists life and work, "Ross: A Journey Into Art" is due to be published in Autumn 2008 ["Ross: A Journey Into Art", 2008 Matador Non-Fiction, http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=694] .

References

*"Art Attack", Lancashire Life Magazine, July 2008
*"Star Attractions", Lancashire Telegraph, May 14 2008
*"Rovers Ace to Open Show", Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, May 01 2008
*"Artist’s Visit", Clitheroe Advertiser and Times, May 01 2008
*"What a Draw", by Mauve Quigley, ICROSS Celebrity Art Auction, Sunday Mirror, November 10 2002

External Links

* [http://www.westholmeschool.com/index.php?id=84 Westholme School - Upper School]
* [http://www.rosseccles.com/biography Ross Eccles - Contemporary Art - Biography]
* [http://www.greengallery.ie/artist_display.asp?ArtistID=121 The Green Gallery Dublin - Irish Art, Art Gallery Dublin, Galleries in Dublin, Gallery Ireland, Irish Gallery, Dublin Art Gallery, Ireland]
* [http://www.artbank.com/DisplayArtist.aspx?id=247 Ross Eccles art for sale and Biography – Artbank.com]
* [http://www.artdecorwhalley.co.uk/artdec.cgi?lastsec=&lastitm=&lastinp=hindhex&biscuits=&fishnet=&call=showart&critter=ROSS%20ECCLES&pag=ong&stile=ARTIST The ROSS ECCLES Collection]
* [http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=694 Ross - A Journey into Art - Matador Non-Fiction - Dawn Eccles]
* [http://www.dublinks.com/index.cfm/loc/19/pt/0/spid/84722A8A-42B4-4D34-8F823612FBE015DE.htm Affordable Art in Dublin - Art in Dublin - the green gallery]