Christine Pybus artist Member of The Fylingdales Group of Artists

The Fylingdales Group of Artists

Christine Pybus

Member since 2000

B. 1954

From an artistic family where both my parents were painters, I was born and still live in Whitby.

During a 26 year career in communications, when all my holidays and spare time were spent painting, I was also fortunate to meet and work with other artists including my friend and mentor William Dealtry.

It was he who told me most of the answers that I would ever need, they were of course of little use to me at the time as it was not until spending many more years painting that I discovered the questions, and indeed am still discovering them now.

In 1997 I resigned from my job, sold my home, bought a commercial property and opened a gallery, selling my own work, antique paintings and other artists work. Following a very successful eleven years there, I subsequently sold the gallery to concentrate exclusively on my own work.

Painting in both oil and watercolour, my 'impressionistic' pictures are usually completed on location, summer or winter, I have a particular love of painting snow, sky and sea.

I feel that travelling is essential to broaden the range of my work and have worked throughout the UK and Europe, in Russia, Australia and New Zealand.

With a passion for art history I have also published a book on the Victorian artist George Weatherill and my writing extends to being a regular columnist for 'Leisure Painter' magazine.

Exhibitions include, The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, Eton College and I have been an invited artist at Henley Royal Regatta for the past fifteen years.

I do wherever possible paint 'on site' that said I would never be so dogmatic as to walk away from an inspirational fleeting moment, rather make a quick note in my sketch book or on any available piece of paper and then attempt a studio painting from both the sketch and from memory later.

When I head out to work It is very rare for me to have any preconceived idea of where or what I am going to paint, my choice of subject is governed purely by the light. I know from experience where it is likely to be good at certain times of day yet am still often undecided as to whether to turn right or left when I reach the main road and often decide when I get there according the prevailing weather.

I paint only what excites me and on rare occasions I immediately find a multitude of subjects, but can only paint one, more commonly I walk or drive, sometimes for hours, looking for that elusive magic. Eventually out of desperation wringing a composition out from a scene that appears on the face of it to be quite unpromising, ironically these pictures are often my better works.

Whilst I am guided by what's in front of me it is not in fact my primary concern, rather capturing the light, movement and colour to create a picture that excites me as opposed to an exact representation of that scene.

I love to use that extra dimension afforded by thick oil paint combined with immediate brush-marks, a style which particularly lends itself to many of my favourite subjects, billowing clouds, sparkling water and deep, crisp snow.

I would like to think the excitement that I feel when painting shows in my work and that perhaps even I can share a little of it with others.

Exhibitions include:-

The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

The Royal Institute of Oil Painters –The Mall Galleries, London

The Royal Society of Marine Artists –- The Mall Galleries, London

Eton College, Group Exhibition

Henley Royal Regatta 2004-2013

Castle Howard: Artexny

Zillah Bell Gallery, Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

Westside Contemporary, Newton, Northumberland.

Harrison Lord Gallery, Brighouse, Yorkshire.

Chantry House Gallery, Ripley near Harrogate.