Richard Foster is a Cumbrian based printmaker, living close to the Lake District hills and overlooking the expanses of Morecambe Bay. Although the landscape of northern Britain informs much of Richard’s work, it is the less obviously picturesque aspects that have the most resonance. The intention is to celebrate the places we encounter in our everyday life; those places that enrich our lives on a regular basis. Richard’s most recent work also celebrates the extraordinary power of plant growth, from the smallest “weed” to the largest tree – the annual cycle of germination, development and reproduction that goes largely unnoticed by humans, who live to a vastly different timescale to the rest of the natural world. The work suggests the unconscious but unstoppable ability of plants to regenerate the environment, if free from the impact of humans.
Richard trained as an art historian and the influence of English artists of the early 20th century can be detected in his work. He has exhibited throughout the UK, with work included in the New Light Prize Exhibition currently touring England. He is the recipient of a Fenton Arts Trust Prize and has work in collections in the UK and Japan.