Paint Out Norwich

Part-time teacher and artist, Stephen Johnston lives in Norwich and regularly paints with the Norwich Outdoor Painting Group. He first participated at Paint Out Norwich in 2017 and also entered two Paint Out events in 2018. In 2019, he was the only artist to manage all 7 Paint Out Gardens visits around the county of Norfolk across the seasons producing 14 artworks and winning Third Prize at the Awards and Exhibition.

He describes himself as a creative person who gains much satisfaction from producing artwork.

“Being outdoors and in nature’s grip gives me space to be inspired and refreshed. The process is the most important aspect in my journey, I am often dissatisfied with the results but keep the outcome as a record of my observations, aspirations, application, time spent outdoors painting plein air.” – Stephen Johnston

Paint Out History

Paint Out Gardens Series – Third Prize
Paint Out Norwich – Winter Nocturne First Prize (2018)
Paint Out Great Yarmouth – selected and participated (2018)
Paint Out Norwich – selected and participated (2017)

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Hannah Bruce studied Fine Art at Aberystwyth University before Art Teacher training at Cambridge University and going on to teach Art for 15 years, 9 of those as head of department in Woking and Guildford. She has now left teaching and has been back painting full time since 2015 and since then also been chair of Woking Art Society.

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Hannah paints primarily in oils, sometimes ink and occasionally acrylic. She has been actively pushing her own plein air work as well as helping to set up Surrey Hills Plein Air painters.

“I am passionate about painting and creating artworks that are vibrantly colourful, conveying joyous and calming moods that make you smile every time you look at them.”

In 2018, she won the Spirit of Norwich Prize sponsored by Norwich Art Supplies for her collection of artworks portraying Norwich day and night during Paint Out Norwich 2018. Prior to that, she has won prizes at A Brush With The Broads, Art in the Open and Windsor Plein Air Painting.

Paint Out History

Paint Out Norwich – Spirit of Norwich Prize (2018)

Other Awards

Guildford Art Society – President’s Prize (2017)
Surrey Artist of the Year – Nominated (2016)
Artist and Illustrators – Artists of the Year, Top 50 Nominee (2016)
Art in the Open, Ireland – Public Paint Out Third Prize (2016)
A Brush with the Broads – Public Paint Out public vote winner (2015)
Windsor Plein Air Painting – Third Prize (2016)

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Michael Richardson was educated at Ipswich College of Art and later in Paris. His work has been exhibited in the Royal Society of Marine Artists (RSMA), the Royal Society of British Artists (RBA), the Royal Institute of Oil Painters (ROI), the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours’ shows at the Mall Galleries and at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition.

Michael is a member of the Wapping Group of Artists (probably the oldest outdoor painting society in the UK), The Chelsea Art Society, and council member of the United Society of Artists. He is also a founder member of the Brass Monkeys Art Society, a hardcore group of winter outdoor painters.

He won the inaugural Paint Out Norwich Nocturne Prize in 2015 and was runner-up in 2016. He regularly delivers oil painting and nocturne workshops during Paint Out events. At Wells-next-the-Sea in 2017, Michael was a guest artist, demonstrator, and prize judge for Paint Out Wells.

Paint Out Awards

Paint Out Norwich – Nocturne Second Prize (2016)
Paint Out Norwich – Nocturne First Prize (2015)

Richard Bond’s work has been exhibited in national group shows and painting competitions, including the Singer & Friedlander/Sunday Times Watercolour Competition, the Lynn Painter-Stainers Prize Competition and the Royal Watercolour Society Open Competition. An article about his work and working methods in watercolour appeared in International Artist magazine (vol. 86).

In the summer of 2013, Richard set up the Norwich Outdoor Painting Group, an informal group of local artists that meets once a week throughout the year to paint en plein air in Norwich city centre.

Richard won the First Prize at Paint Out Norwich 2015. In 2016, he followed that with a First place win in the Watercolour category. The judge, Hugh Pilkington, awarded him a judge’s commendation in 2017 for Richard’s “Indian Summer”, on Mousehold Heath.

Paint Out Awards

Paint Out Norwich – First Prize (2015, 2016), Commended (2017), selected and participated (2014)

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Robert Nelmes paints in oils and watercolour, both with their own unique set of challenges, particularly en plein air with environmental pressures and “greater sense of urgency, with a level of intensity and concentration unique to the discipline.” He says that creating a plein air painting and leaving it in its raw state is a very “honest representation of you as an artist.”

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Robert was born in Leeds and moved to the Isle of Skye when he was 16, completing his education in drawing and painting at Edinburgh College of Art in 1987. Whilst illustrating for the last 25 years he has maintained his passion for painting and drawing. Illustration clients have included: BP, Diageo, Jura Whisky, Standard Life, RBS, National Trust for Scotland and Historic Scotland.

“The shifting light and changing weather will always present a greater test to the artist than the safety of the studio can. For me this increases the sense of urgency, promoting a more instinctive reaction and vibrant result.” – Robert Nelmes

He has taken part in Sky Arts Landscape Artist of the Year 2015 and has been teaching landscape painting in Italy as well as getting out into the local Norfolk countryside from his new base in Roydon, Diss – close to the Norfolk/Suffolk border.

“I enjoy capturing the essence of what makes each landscape unique, be it the light, a majestic mountain range or the vastness of the ocean and now the big skies and patchwork landscape of Norfolk draw me in.”

Robert Nelmes scooped the Paint Out First Prize at Paint Out’s inaugural Freestyle competition (2016) and again for his painting ‘Blacksmiths‘ at the Royal Norfolk Show (2017), presented by Keys Fine Art Auctioneers and the Chairman of Archant Newspapers.

“I am over the moon and amazed because the standard was so high. I decided to paint the blacksmiths because the subject suits the way I paint. It’s all about light and dark, energy and movement and contrast, and it’s a challenge too.” – Robert Nelmes, EDP

He also sold at the Royal Norfolk Show Paint Out art auction run by Keys Auctioneers, exceeding the list price. One to watch, and invest in!

Paint Out Awards

Paint Out Great Yarmouth – First Prize & People’s Choice (2018)
Paint Out Sudbury – Participated (2018)
Paint Out Norwich – Freestyle First Prize (2016), Nocturne First Prize (2017)
Paint Out Wells-next-the-Sea – Judge’s Commendation (2017)
Paint Out Royal Norfolk Show – First Prize (2017)

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Forthcoming Events

Paint Out Norwich Midwinter, 18 Dec 2019

Following 2018’s midwinter free event we are returning to Norwich Market, Jarrolds and the surrounding area to paint the seasonal scenes. We’ll be there from 1-5pm and then have a drink together. Paint early for the light, paint late for the lights, or paint both! There is no charge for this free event but registration via our website or Facebook would help us with numbers and racking space.

Paint Out Norwich Midwinter  

Paint Out Norfolk, 16-23 July 2020

Paint Out Norfolk Gardens, May-Oct 2019

Throughout 2019 we explored Norfolk’s great gardens with a succession of one-day events at:

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Paint Out Holt, 19-20 July 2019

The Holt Festival (21-27 July), now in its eleventh year, invited Paint Out to open this year’s Festival with a two-day Paint Out and Private View (19-20 July) around the charming North Norfolk town. Robert Upstone a Tate curator judged the event at Paint Out Holt as well as Charlotte Crawley (Art Historian, former EAAF).

Home to 500-year-old Gresham’s School (alumni include WH Auden, Olivia Colman, Benjamin Britten, James Dyson, and the artist Ben Nicholson), this two-session Paint Out was backed up by a ten-day exhibition in Picturecraft of Holt, a gallery and Art material supplier with the winners exhibiting alongside the now well established Holt Art Prize. 

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Paint Out Norfolk, 1-7 July 2019

Paint Out Norfolk took place in conjunction with The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts 1-7 July (painting days 1st-5th, PV 5th, Exhibition 6th-7th) based around the Sainsbury Centre/UEA campus site and painting further afield including Wells-next-the-Sea, the Broads, and Houghton Hall park. 

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Paint Out Cambridge, 13-15 May 2019