Ruth Swain OAS – portfolio

Contact the artist

https://www.ruthswain.co.uk
07817 587359
ruthmswain@gmail.com

Exhibition catalogue: https://www.facing-the-future.com

Exhibition information

I refuse to be invisible. I am a 60 something woman, an artist and I paint. It’s what I do.The books that people read or write provide clues as to the sort of person that they are. What we choose to read is often a reflection of our personality, our desires and our own stories. What we write tends to reveal other, deeper parts of us. My latest series draws parallels to the well-known series:  Desert Island Discs but through a canvas medium.

When I paint someone or something, I get to know the subject during my time spent with them. I am a tireless people watcher, I look at people on trains, on buses, on screen and try not to stare. I study skin tones, stray hairs, bulges, wrinkles, imperfections, things we tend to hide. I question their lives. I especially look at what they are reading. I measure the space between their nose and mouth, I mix colours on the palette in my head and capture the tone or feeling even when I’m not actually painting them. What I love most about my new series of work is that by incorporating a book into the composition of the painting, the viewer is given the opportunity to gain a deeper insight into the sitter, whether it is their humour, their intellect or another aspect of their personality which might otherwise have gone unknown.

 I’m a people person, they fascinate me and inspire me to create.

Painting for me is not just a joy, it’s a need.

Artist information

Ruth Swain is a full time artist who lives and works in Jericho, Oxford. Ruth studied graphic design and worked as an art director in advertising. She now uses her advertising background to influence her work and tries to add humour and visual ideas to her work.

Ruth went back to art school in 2018 to study Contemporary Portraiture at The Art Academy London. She works on private commissions in oil watercolour and pastel. Ruth also works on her own ideas and is currently planning an exhibition based on her book series. 

Ruth is also involved in The Red line exhibition with Lucy Stopford. The exhibition includes many well known artists and will be showing at the RSA in London in April.

Ruth teaches at Sunningwell School of Art, she is a member of the OAS and she often works with Liberty speciality market on various projects.

Ruth has exhibited with the John Ruskin Prize, the RI, The British art prize, many London galleries including The Mall Galleries and won the readers award with Liberty and Artists and illustrators magazine. She recently had a large exhibition ‘Facing the future’ 16 portraits of people involved with breast cancer. The fund raising for ‘breast cancer now’ raised over £138,000, and the exhibition was in London, Oxted and Oxford.