Contemporary figurative artist, Richard Blunt was born and raised in Stourbridge in the UK’s West Midlands, and describes his formative years as one of happiness and adventure, but otherwise nothing remarkable. Being a product of the 1980s, Blunt spent carefree days outdoors exploring bikes, trees and inevitably girls somewhere down the line, yet when he did return indoors he concentrated his efforts on drawing and mastering the guitar. Blunt departed secondary school and elected to study 3D Design at Worcester College of Art and Design, however his time here was brought to an abrupt and premature end on arriving at the conclusion that it wasn’t for him; after growing disillusioned with the course and growing increasingly distracted as a result.
After turning his back on further education, Blunt drifted for the next few years and losing focus and direction, much to the derision of his parents, and with the advent of his 20s he ended up living in an unfamiliar town, homeless, friendless and with his only personal possessions located in his coat pockets. Although he hadn’t picked up a guitar or paintbrush for several years, it was at this low-point that Blunt reconnected with his criminally underused creative side. In the event, it was this recently neglected creative drive that inspired Blunt to start writing songs and playing music again. The next period in Blunt’s life was spent gigging with bands the length and breadth of the UK, yet he remained largely creatively unfulfilled and sought to change things for the long-term better.
It was with this renewed purpose and drive that Blunt applied for a (BA Hons) Degree course in Music, but not before he ummed and ahhhed over whether or not he should pursue an art or music-derived Degree. In the end Blunt opted for music, as somewhat perversely he couldn’t see himself securing a job/career with an art degree to his mind. Yet it still wasn’t plain sailing for Blunt, who despite successfully completing his degree and gaining a 2:1 for his efforts experienced something bordering on a cathartic moment whilst on his course.
After being inadvertently exposed to oil painting he decided to try his hand at something he hadn’t prior to this ever considered or used in anger or otherwise. Instantly Blunt became hooked on the material and found that he had a knack for producing portraits of people. Starting off with friends and family, word soon spread and before long he was receiving paid commissions to originate the likeness of pretty much every other Thomas, Richard or Harry on who’s radar he appeared. As it happened, this extra-curricular funding helped Blunt pay his way through university, and ultimately helped him settle his mind as to what exactly he really wanted to do with his life. Keen to push himself toward new artistic boundaries he hadn’t considered before, Blunt attempted some original compostions which again turned out to be very successfully received and found homes in no time at all, much to his surprise.
Blunt from this point forward dedicated himself to becoming a professional artist, and left his music career behind while he furthered himself and his artistic possibilities by completing art/picture restorations at the same time as developing and evolving his own particular styles and techniques. A fan of the Pre-Raphaelites, Blunt drew a deal of influence from the likes of Millias and Waterhouse, as well as the Old Masters themselves, like Rembrandt, Vermeer and Caravaggio. Blunt was fascinated by the way in which they manipulated light and reflection to create depth and volume to their most memorable compositions, which he believes afforded them this photo-realistic approach which he compares favourably to being almost manifest, quality-wise to scenes from modern movies. On this subject, Blunt is also admittedly heavily influenced by the silver screen of yore, and has held a life-long interest in and devotion to the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and the way in which these seemingly classical, timeless passages of time were depicted, illustrated and visually documented courtesy of celluloid, print and paint. So much so, that a large percentage of Blunt’s early work comprised of musicians or scenes lifted directly from famous films of that time, notably of either a ganster-inspired and/or romantic genre. Blunt recalls pausing films to sketch a scene, whereas now he composes his own characters and fictitious situations and scenarios in which to cast and pitch them.
Sadness, loneliness and a sense of longing play a large part in Blunt’s pieces, which he says would lurk in the background as a recurrent theme from these nostalgic movies, which subsequently led to his interpretive paintings of lone male figures, be-suited and be-hatted as was the elegant style and fashionable intent back then, by hook or by crook. Blunt also stresses that he only paints the things that he loves and the things that inspire him. He loves painting people and skies and he also loves to be by the sea, so most of his work contains at least one if not all of these essential elements. He also likes to try and tell a story or create a bit of mystery. A book, film or song can do this he notes, yet they have more time, whilst Blunt must convey the whole message, story and any subtext in the one, perfectly captured frame. More often than not Blunt is inspired by his own experiences, as is the case with most artists, as his life changes, so does his work. Gradually evolving from his earlier compositions, themes of love and happiness started to emerge in Blunt’s paintings, more noticeably though the lonely, anonymous male of late finding a female and with this revelation comes the adaption of a more extensive palette of colours, hues and saturations to project a more upbeat feel.
