Ric Burkitt, a former graphic designer now full-time artist and part-time painting teacher, works from his studio in Stoneville creating mixed-media landscape paintings that evoke the mood and atmosphere of the surrounding countryside. Ric’s practice explores a variety of styles and mediums, however, he is best known for his striking and dynamic abstract works that explore the expressive potential of non-representational painting.

Ric began his creative career working as a graphic designer. With a passion for drawing since his early school years, Ric completed a BA in Fine Art with Distinction at Curtin University of Technology in 1992. Over the years he explored teaching and running a freelance graphics business before focusing on his arts practice full-time.

Ric works out of his purpose-built space in Stoneville, surrounded by gardens, trees, birds, and barking geese. When Ric isn’t immersing himself in his own work, he runs small group workshops in landscape or abstract painting.

“I’ve enjoyed this space for about three years now and I’m just starting to settle in. Funny, how it can take a while to turn a new room into a personal space!”

Ric spends most studio days without a strict routine. Preferring to resolve one painting before working on the next, Ric either picks up from where he left off the previous day or lets a new idea guide his thinking.

“Any kind of rigid routine tends to get boring, so I’ve made a habit of varying how I set up, how I work, and even how and when I take breaks so that I stay fresh and inspired.”

In the studio, Ric’s practice is soundtracked by anything from contemporary jazz and classical music to blues and pop, often driven by his mood and state of mind on the day. The length of time Ric spends on a piece is dependent on the scale, number of layers he works with, his experimentation with techniques, and if he becomes fixated in a cycle of repainting sections.

“Sometimes I get caught up in the simple joy of the process.”

Working with oils and acrylics on canvas or board, Ric explores a variety of approaches to the traditional landscape, as well as the challenges of the semi-abstract, where the essence of the complicated can often be found veiled in the mundane.

Ric’s inspiration is drawn from the paddocks and rolling hills to the east of Stoneville, around York, Toodyay, and Northam, and the skies above. Instead of painting an exact essence, Ric aims to depict a general sense of comfort and familiarity.

“I spent many hours driving around backroads, getting lost, exploring the changing colours of crops and grasses over the seasons, and working on paintings that, hopefully, captured the feelings of joy and connection that I experienced along the way.”

Speaking on what he hopes people experience when viewing his work, Ric expressed that he hopes they feel what he felt when he painted the piece: a moment of peace, silence, serenity, and motivation.

“Ultimately, I’m happy if people just enjoy the experience of looking at my artwork.”

Images courtesy of Ric Burkitt and Josh Wells.