Ted Reynolds' Biography

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This is my biography.
In 1949, I was serving on the personal staff of Field Marshal Montgomery and had to decide on a career in the army or to go back to school. School won and I spent the next five years at the Sheffield College of Art where I obtained my National Diploma in Painting. English art teachers of the day insisted on strong draughtsmanship and close observation of nature. In 1953 New American Painting - Pollock, De Kooning - had just hit London and art students of that period had problems defining what 'art' was. We had the Euston Road School; Kitchen Sink; Basic Design (introducing new methods of teaching art); Op Art, Pop Art, etc, etc, - quite a mix for any young artist to absorb.
I was awarded a Travelling Scholarship in my final year to study in France and Italy and exhibited at the City Art Gallery, Sheffield where my work (see avatar - self-portrait)attracted the attention of the Yorkshire Society of Artists who invited me to exhibit at the Leeds City Art Gallery and join such illustrious Yorkshire artists as Henry Moore and David Hockney.
In 1956 I hitchhiked to St Cyr near Marseille, where I shared a farmhouse with John Hoyland (ARA) and David Smith (fellow students at Sheffield), and painted landscapes and portraits of local French girls, including 'Monique.'
After 3 years in London,surviving mainly by painting portraits, I joined book publishers, Faber & Faber, who had built a reputation for promoting the best young authors and poets of the day under the guidance of T.S. Eliot, a director of the company. I designed book promotional material, organised book displays in and outside London, and illustrated Faber books. I had learned Calligraphy at Sheffield so now I took courses in Typography and Book Illustration at the Central School of Art, London. At this time I painted a portrait of the Vice Chairman, Peter du Sautoy; painted oils of London squares, and landscapes near Epping Forest, where I shared a studio with Terry Lee.
In 1960 I left Faber and spent nine years in Sri Lanka as Art Director to a major Publishing and Newspaper Group. I also painted numerous pictures of my children as well as landscapes including tea plantations. We were major publishers of Penguin books and gave a dinner for Sir Allen Lane, for whom I designed the menu - it depicted numerous drawings of penguins, getting progressively drunk on champagne. He was delighted with it. I also achieved one of my childhood ambitions by becoming political cartoonist for the SUN newspaper group, Colombo.
In the seventies I returned to London, practising as a freelance designer and illustrator, with painting relegated to my spare time. In '82, working with Strategic Advtg, London, I designed the display stands for both the British and the Japanese pavilions in Dusseldorf for the international DRUPA print exhibition and was then able to celebrate my honeymoon with my wife, Trish and attend the exhibition at the same time.
We came to Spain in '83 where I practised as a graphic designer for the next ten years. In '93, I began to seriously paint again - flower pieces, still life and began to explore new media - pastel, oil pastel, acrylic and watercolour.
In June 2000 I held a very successful Retrospective Exhibition in the Sala de Exposiciones, Tenencia de Alcaldia, Los Boliches - 71 paintings in oil, acrylic, watercolour and gouache.
In Sept '03 I exhibited in the IV Certamen Nacional de Dibujo "Felipe Orlando" in Castillo Bil Bil and my prizewinning drawing of a bull was purchased by the Ayuntamiento. I then had a watercolour accepted for a joint show at Sala de Exposiciones, Málaga, transferring to Antequera in November.
Held another one-man show in October of 58 paintings in the Casa de Cultura, Arroyo de la Miel, with over 800 visitors.
In April '04 had a joint exhibition in the Riviera Gallery, Fuengirola and in November showed 3 paintings with National Association of Painters in Acrylic in the Mariners Gallery, St. Ives, Cornwall.
My paintings are held in private collections in UK, Spain, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, South Africa and Australia.
In December I rented exhibition space in the newly formed Riviera Gallery, Fuengirola, where I continue to have a permanent exhibition.
More of my work can be seen on my website: www.tedreynoldspaintings.net and www.newenglishart.com.

Ted Reynolds - ,