OPHELIA REDPATH

Ophelia Redpath is known for her figurative oil paintings, which combine traditional techniques with a symbolic language of her own. Her paintings explore themes of magic realism, the relationship between civilization and the wilderness, and the complex dynamics between culture and the natural world.

Redpath’s artistic journey began in her youth. Born in Cambridge in 1965, she studied at the Art Foundation Course at CCAT in 1983-1984, where she was mentored by illustrator Warwick Hutton and painter Julia Ball. After further studies in Music and Education at Homerton College, she turned to painting full-time. Throughout her career, Redpath has consistently drawn from her love for jazz, literature, and the natural world, creating works that often reflect these influences. Her style incorporates layers of oil paint on canvas, creating depth and richness in her compositions, while her detailed pen and ink works demonstrate her skill in illustration and graphic design.

Her work is deeply inspired by the organic magic of nature and the cultural forces that shape our world. Redpath seeks to capture the inherent beauty of the natural environment while highlighting the challenges faced by species in a rapidly changing world. Music, particularly jazz, plays a crucial role in her creative process, with each chord change evoking specific colours and lines in her paintings. The interplay between civilization and the wilderness is a central theme in her current body of work, as she explores both the conflicts and potential for positive change in this relationship.

With a career spanning nearly 40 years, she has exhibited widely across the UK and further afield, and has earned significant recognition for her work. She was nominated for the prestigious Kate Greenaway Prize in 2014 for her children’s picture book The Lemur’s Tale, which was also featured as Book of the Week in The Times. In 2021, she won the Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year award, with her winning piece being a portrait of Dinas Oleu, now displayed at Penrhyn Castle. Redpath’s achievements continued in 2023, when she won both the Environmental Artivism and Editor’s Choice categories at the David Shepherd Wildlife Artist of the Year awards.

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ORIGINAL PAINTINGS