Roy Petley (born 3 April 1950) is a British painter. Petley paints ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

'' to depict the wide expanse of English beaches and the gentle allure of Venetian landscapes. His works have been likened to those of

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, the ...

Edward Seago Edward Brian Seago, RBA, ARWS, RWS (31 March 1910 – 19 January 1974) was an English artist who painted in both oils and watercolours. Early life The son of a coal merchant, Seago was born in Norwich and attended Norwich School. He was a se ...

, and Campbell Mellon, British painters whose styles were influenced by the

Barbizon school The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its nam ...

and

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passa ...

. Beginning life in a children's home, he became one of the first artists to open an art gallery in Cork Street, a prestigious street lined with art galleries in London's Mayfair. His works are popularly collected by British royalty, including

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was th ...

Early life and background

The first-born son of a large family, Roy Petley was born on 3 April 1950 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. When he was five, Petley was abandoned to the Woodlands School near Uckfield, Sussex. The school also doubled as a home for abandoned children. He escaped his rough and often violent surroundings through art, teaching himself how to paint and draw. At the age of sixteen, he received a scholarship to study art at Brighton University. But the pull of Italy and the country's old masters of art such as

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 14522 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, Drawing, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially re ...

and

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was in ...

proved too much. After a semester at Brighton University, he hitchhiked to Italy, settling in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

where he eked out a living by drawing tourists who frequent the numerous cafes of the city, and studied the classics at the

Uffizi Gallery The Uffizi Gallery (; it, Galleria degli Uffizi, italic=no, ) is a prominent art museum located adjacent to the Piazza della Signoria in the Historic Centre of Florence in the region of Tuscany, Italy. One of the most important Italian mus ...

and

Palazzo Pitti The Palazzo Pitti (), in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast, mainly Renaissance, palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present ...

. It was also in Florence that Petley had the chance to work with the collections of old master prints and drawings of the Gabinetto dei Disegni e Stampe of the Uffizi Gallery.

Career

Petley was only seventeen when he returned to England in 1968. At first, he headed for

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingd ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. North ...

where the Bell Gallery provided support and encouragement for the young artist. But after some time in Ireland, Petley returned to London and succeeded in exhibiting his paintings in the galleries of the city's high-end shops, such as Liberty's and Heal's. To support his art, he worked in the art department of the Greenwich Theatre. By the age of 21, Petley left the theatre world altogether and began exhibiting his works on the railings of

Green Park Green Park, officially The Green Park, is one of the Royal Parks of London. It is in the southern part – the core part – of the City of Westminster, Central London, but before that zone was extended to the north, to take in Maryle ...

in London. In the 1970s, the perimeter of the park was home to mostly struggling local artists selling their works to the passing public. Exhibiting on Sundays, the Green Park railings were then respectably called "The Open Air Art Show". Though this tradition still continues, railings has since been occupied by individuals peddling tourist gifts and paintings made in China. He achieved minor success with American art dealers who took great interest in his work. Following a chance encounter with the Duchess of Kent, a member of the late Queen Mother's household staff came to look at his works. Soon after

William Tallon William John Stephenson Tallon RVM (12 November 1935 – 23 November 2007), also known as Billy Tallon or Backstairs Billy, was a steward and member of the Queen Mother's staff at Clarence House. Early life Tallon was born above his grand ...

, the late Queen Mother's steward, returned to her with Petley's portrait study of Prince Charles, Petley was summoned to the Palace. Thus began the artist's long-standing friendship with the British Royals, which includes the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Duchess of Norfolk as his supporters. Exhibitions ensued in London and Dublin, and in places as far away as Dallas, Texas and the island of Barbados.

Art

In every work of art, Petley incorporates a play of light and shadows. As he moves from his natural medium of oil to watercolour or pastel to sanguine, there remains a certain youthful light emanates from his paintings. A plein air painter, his works reflect his surroundings - from the quiet beaches of Norfolk and the picturesque parks of Paris, to his subtle nudes draped with sheets and sunlight. He captures the romanticism of days gone by, with nary a modern automobile or electrical appliance blemishing his canvas. Renowned British art critic,

Brian Sewell Brian Alfred Christopher Bushell Sewell (; 15 July 1931 – 19 September 2015) was an English art critic. He wrote for the ''Evening Standard'' and had an acerbic view of conceptual art and the Turner Prize. ''The Guardian'' described him as ...

, described Petley as "a painter who still paints, who brushes watercolour onto paper and oil paint onto canvas, a painter who even settles down to draw the nude from life - an absurdly old-fashioned discipline for an artist to pursue."p.10, Brian Sewell. Roy Petley. (David Messum Fine Art, UK, 1994).

Petleys

Petleys is a fine art gallery based in London. It was first known as Petley Fine Art. In October 2003, with his son Jason and a business partner, Petley established the London gallery with the intent of providing opportunities and promoting the work of other artists. The gallery is in Cork Street, home of numerous art galleries of great repute, the

Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purp ...

, and based in the affluent Mayfair district of London. In the spring of 2004, a second gallery was opened in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino i ...

and the gallery often participated in the Monte Carlo Fine Art & Antiques Fair. The gallery's line-up of artists include established portrait painters Neil Forster, whose sitters have included the Prince of Wales and Martin Yeoman, who is a member of the

Royal Society of Portrait Painters The Royal Society of Portrait Painters is a charity based at Carlton House Terrace, SW1, London that promotes the practice and appreciation of portraiture. Its Annual Exhibition of portraiture is held at Mall Galleries, and it runs a commissio ...

; as well as international artists such as Vincente Romero from Spain and Yuri Krotov from Russia. In June 2009, Petley Fine Art was reformed into Petleys.

List of exhibitions

*1968: Drawings, Bell Gallery, Belfast *1970: Liberty's Gallery, London; Heal's Gallery, London *1972: The Open Air Art Show, Green Park, London *1973: Crome Gallery, Norfolk *1975: Liberty's Gallery, London *1976: Heal's Gallery, London; One-Man Exhibition, Crome Gallery, Norwich; The Small Gallery, Norwich *1977: Crome Gallery, Norwich *1978: Traveling Show, East Anglian Marine Artists, Cambridge; One-Man Exhibition, Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames *1979: Traveling Show, East Anglian Marine Artists, Ipswich; Watercolours of Venice, Crome Gallery, Norwich; Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames *1980: Traveling Show, East Anglian Marine Artists, Cambridge *1981: Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames *1982: Australian Paintings, Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames *1983: Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames; Fermoy Gallery, King's Lynn *1984: Figures and Flowers, Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames; Casa de Cultura, Estepona, Spain; Alpine Gallery, London *1985: Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames; One-Man Exhibition, Don Carlos Hotel, Marbella, Spain; Alpine Gallery, London; The Open Air Arts Show, Green Park, London *1986: Galeria Arte, Benehavis, Spain; Paintings from the Mediterranean, Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames *1987: Alpine Gallery, London; Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames; Fine Art Trade Guild Gallery, London *1988: Fine Art Trade Guild Gallery, London; Century Gallery, Henley-on-Thames *1989: One-Man Exhibition, Oughertson Gallery, Barbados; Fine Art Trade Guild Gallery, London; One-Man Exhibition, Mistral Gallery, London *1990: One-Man Exhibition, Oughertson Gallery, Barbados *1991: One-Man Exhibition, Solomon Gallery, Dublin *1992: The Bruton St. Gallery, London *1993: Davis Messum, Cork St, London *1994: Davis Messum, Cork St, London (watercolours); David Messum, Cork St, London (oil paintings) *1995: Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin; David Messum, Cork St, London *1996: The Victorian Gallery, Dallas, Texas *1997: The Victorian Gallery, Dallas, Texas; David Messum, Cork St, London; Jorgensen Fine Art, Dublin *1998: David Messum, Cork St, London; Sammer Gallery, Marbella, Spain *1999: David Messum, Cork St, London; The Victorian Gallery, Dallas, Texas *2000: David Messum, Cork St, London *2001: The Eakin Gallery, Belfast *2002: The Little Gallery, Saint Emilion, France *2003: Stables Gallery, County Antrim; Petley Fine Art, London *2004: Petley Fine Art, London & Monte Carlo; The Little Gallery, Saint Emilion *2005: Petley Fine Art, London & Monte Carlo *2006: Petley Fine Art, London & Monte Carlo *2007: Petley Fine Art, London & Monte Carlo; The Little Gallery, Saint Emilion *2008: Petley Fine Art, London & Monte Carlo *2009: Petleys *2010: Petleys

Collections

* The Prince of Wales *

* The Duchess of Norfolk *Durban Museum * The Lord Hanson *

Frederick Forsyth Frederick McCarthy Forsyth (born 25 August 1938) is an English novelist and journalist. He is best known for thrillers such as '' The Day of the Jackal'', '' The Odessa File'', ''The Fourth Protocol'', '' The Dogs of War'', '' The Devil's Alt ...

*Mr & Mrs R. K. Black * The Duke of Edinburgh * The Duchess of Kent *

Ulster Museum The Ulster Museum, located in the Botanic Gardens in Belfast, has around 8,000 square metres (90,000 sq. ft.) of public display space, featuring material from the collections of fine art and applied art, archaeology, ethnography, treas ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

* Susan George *

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. Beginning his career on stage, he made his film debut as Philip II of France in the 1968 historical drama ''The Lion in Winter''. He gained international prominence as ...

* The Sultan of Brunei * Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane

References

External links

* http://roypetley.com/
Petleys, contemporary figurative art gallery

Roy Petley, struggling artist to gallery owner

Roy Petley on Artprice

* ttp://www.susangeorgeofficialwebsite.com/biography4.html Susan George's exhibition
Roy Petley and art hedge funds on Canada.com

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petley, Roy Living people 1951 births British Impressionist painters 20th-century British painters British male painters 21st-century British painters People from Grantham 20th-century British male artists 21st-century British male artists