Roy Fairchild-Woodard

Roy Fairchild-Woodard was born in Surrey in 1953. After completing his degree in graphic design he set up his own studio, where for several years, under the name of Woodard,produced illustrations for record sleeves, advertisements and books, as well as decorative serigraphs and lithographs. He eventually gained sufficient financial security to give up commercial illustrations and return full time to to his own painting and printmaking,which he does under his family name, Fairchild.

Roy gains his inspiration from his travels around Europe, he is particularly influenced by the painters of the Renaissance and he visits Italy in particular to study frescoes, tapestries and paintings and to see for himself the techniques with which they were executed.

As a printmaker, he has found most favour with serigraphy, where the rich opaque colours of his work, are furthered by the medium. During printing, which may involve the application of 40 or 50 screens, the image begins to emerge, color by color, first the background base colors and washes, and finally the stronger decorative surface details. At all stages, the artist is free to rework the screens, change each color, until he has a single perfect print. The process is then reproduced up to 350 times until the limited edition is complete. The screens are then destroyed.

His admiration for Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimt can be seen in occasional references of line and decoration but he has extended the technique to produce something altogether bolder and contemporary. He is one of the most popular contemporary artists in the world and all of his editions sell out very quickly on release.