Focus on Deborah Richards
Updated: Oct 30
Deborah Richards has had a distinguished career as a successful artist and designer but is now especially known for her distinctive semi-abstract monotypes.
Drawn to the drama of changing light she explores the creative space between abstraction and representation particularly downland valleys, rivers, estuaries and inland waters.
Background
Deborah is from the West Sussex/Hampshire border. She chose to study an unusual combination of both fine art and design in 2D and 3D at degree level in Bradford after working regularly with innovative designers and makers in Sussex from the age of 16. The degree included printmaking and product design.
Since graduating she has worked for over thirty years as a 2D/3D museum exhibition designer on many award winning exhibitions and for many years has painted and sculpted in ceramic in her spare time.
In 2010 at the IOW Quay Arts Open Deborah Richards was awarded 2nd prize of a solo exhibition in Spring 2012. In 2013 she was awarded a Highly Commended prize at the Sussex Open Artists Competition at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester.
In 2026 Deborah Richards exhibited in and helped curate 'Every Step of the Way' at the ARC Winchester, exploring the South Downs Way through inspirational artworks and to illustrate the activity of walking the route through visual art.
The other artist-curators were Tim Craven and Melanie Rose. The resultant exhibition was both at Weald and Downland Museum and The Novium, Chichester.
In 2026 she also took part in the Artel Contemporary Exhibition at the Oxmarket, Chichester.
Solent Journey Sequence I by Deborah Richards, monotype, oil paper, image size 42 x 30 cm Journey by Moonlight VI by Deborah Richards, monotype, oil paper, image size 42 x 30 cm Winter View Passing Train I by Deborah Richards, monotype, oil paper, image size 26 x 21 cm Winter View - Passing train VI by Deborah Richards, monotype, oil paper, image size 26 x 21 cm A Moonlit Night III by Deborah Richards, monotype, oil paper, image size 26 x 21 cm Lighthouse I by Deborah Richards, monotype, oil paper, image size 31 x 29 cm, framed size 53 x 43 cm
Monotypes by Deborah Richards shown above:
Solent Journey Sequence I, monotype, oil paper, image size 42 x 30 cm
Journey by Moonlight VI, monotype, oil paper, image size 42 x 30 cm
Winter View Passing Train I, monotype, oil paper, image size 26 x 21 cm
Winter View - Passing train VI, monotype, oil paper, image size 26 x 21 cm
A Moonlit Night III, monotype, oil paper, image size 26 x 21 cm
Lighthouse I, monotype, oil paper, image size 31 x 29 cm, framed size 53 x 43 cm
Process
Deborah Richards makes drawings, paintings and monotypes by combining texture, colour, composition, shape and line. Her current key media is the monoprint, developed from sketches made from life using pastel for colour, graphite and conte for line.
The work requires resolve, energy and stamina to rise early in the dark, setting up outside, waiting for the dawn to develop and then drawing until too tired to continue.
Each composition is then completed in the print studio working from the sketches which enable a continuation of this process. Her visual memory is assisted from the multi-sensory outdoor experience of the surroundings at different states of night and day.
Her approach to monotype enables a simplification of the sketches and it is through this that she has developed her own visual language of mark-making and semi-abstraction. The original energy of the encounter helps to evolve the work throughout the process.
Technique
Each oil on paper monotype is created on a thin clear perspex ‘plate’ with oil based inks and sometimes oil paint - However sheet metal, vinyl cloth or any impervious substrate can be used.
The images originate from sketches but they have to be reversed when applying the ink to the plate which can be hard sometimes!
An important part of Deborah Richards' approach is the mixing of oils and inks, which can take over an hour or more, adding medium to vary transparency. These are then applied using brushes, rollers and rags, sometimes stencils, themselves applied with colour or acting as a mask.
The ink is then drawn into or wiped away, making use of the clear line or areas/textures which will either be white or leave the colour beneath if being printed over for a second or third time.
It is then printed using a Hunter Penrose Etching Press or similar. A first imprint is taken and then often a second print made, producing a similar ‘ghost’ image.
Deborah Richards especially prizes the ghost print images and will add further marks and colour by adding to the plate and running through the press a second and sometimes third time.
Sometimes extra lines in ink are added afterwards or cccasionally in conte.
All prints are made with high quality oil-based relief inks and printed on acid-free watercolour paper, usually 200gsm and 300gsm weight.
The characteristic of this method is that no two ‘prints’ are alike and each is in fact a unique printed painting and another way to best describe my monotypes would be 'works on paper'.
Because these images rely on the print process, sometimes there are welcome random effects of working with plate and press ending in a reversed image, which is why they are generally considered to be prints. They are known as 'monotypes' because each is a unique image.
Each image may have several ‘siblings’ in a series using ghosts of the preceding passes and ink/painted additions and updates to the plate (before or after printing). These usually have the same name with a consecutive number but all 1/1.
As with other artists (e.g Tom Hammick), Deborah Richards sometimes number my monotypes as 'E.V.' This is a standard printing term standing for 'Edition Variable', which is the proper way to explain that that a set of prints come from working with a plate in a series but with unique marks etc.
Monoprints: A 'monoprint' is similar but has a repeat motif or a matrix which makes a part of the image repeatable. Therefore the Silkscreens exhibited fall into this category due maybe to the repeat apertures, making a matrix, even though the content is painted through the screen and each unique.
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