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Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA

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Paris, Notre Dame

Spencer-Pryse-Tessa-Paris-Notre-Dame.jpg
Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA
Oil
46 x 52 cm
Related exhibition:
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2019

Stoerhead Lighthouse

Spencer-Pryse_Tessa_Stoerhead-Lighthouse.jpg
Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA
Oil
79 x 94 cm
Related exhibition:
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2018

Roses in a Glass

Spencer-Pryse-Tessa-Roses.jpg
Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA
Oil
25.5 x 20 cm
Related exhibition:
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2018

Sand Dunes at Walberswick

Spencer Pryse-Tessa-Sand Dunes at Walberswick.jpg
Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA
Oil
35 x 40 cm
Related exhibition:
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2017

Winter Solstice, Wivenhoe

Spencer Pryse-Tessa-Winter Solstice, Wivenhoe.jpg
Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA
Oil
40 x 60 cm
Related exhibition:
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2017

Low Tide, The Beach

Spencer Pryse-Tessa-Low Tide, The Beach.jpg
Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA
Oil
20 x 28 cm
Related exhibition:
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2017

Grand Canal, Venice

Spencer-Pryse-Tessa-Venice,-C'a-D'Oro,-Grand-Canal.jpg
Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA
Oil
45 x 60 cm
Related exhibition:
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2017

Tower Bridge, London

Spencer Pryse-Tessa-Tower Bridge, London.jpg
Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA
Oil
30 x 40 cm
Related exhibition:
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2016
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About Tessa Spencer Pryse Sen RBA

Profile

Artist details

Artist's Statement

Light plays and dances through the vibrant oil and watercolour paintings of Tessa Spencer Pryse, recording journeys through France, the Scottish Highlands, Switzerland and Venice as well as closer to home in Essex and Suffolk.



"I had an unusual upbringing and went to school in France, rural Wales and Switzerland. Perhaps it made me more observant visually. When you cannot understand what people are saying maybe you focus more on what you can see. I can remember being transfixed by watching pools of light shifting across rooms and by the way leaves seemed to change colour as the trees are blown about by the winds. I vowed early on that I would be a painter and try to communicate my passionate love of colour, tone and light to other people."



She has certainly succeeded skillfully combining a rich beautifully controlled palette with a powerful sense of the forces of nature. An expressive and accomplished artist Tessa prefers to work outdoors in the 'plein air' tradition, better to capture the play of light and shade whether over a broad landscape or in a more intimate scene such as the Fish Market in Venice or a sunny Provencal street cafe.



Tessa studied in London at the prestigious Byam Shaw School of Art later receiving the honour of being invited as guest student by Peter Greenham, Keeper of the Royal Academy Schools. Since then has worked prolifically exhibiting widely in Britain and overseas.

Method of Working

I paint using oil colour of the highest quality, and brushes of all sizes, from large hog brushes to delicate sables. Fine oil-primed canvas is my preferred surface, where the build-up of pigments, including white lead and a special medium I make using larch resin, leads to the greatest degree of luminosity. The techniques so well understood by artists of the Renaissance, and of course Rembrandt, are a source of inspiration in my work.I make preliminary sketches before working directly onto canvas on the spot. Several paintings are generally on the go at one time, kept face-to-the-wall between sessions.In portraiture, I find that the unique character of the sitter is revealed little by little during the six to eight sittings required.I hope that the sheer joy and excitement I experience when in the midst of painting are communicated to the viewer!

Biographical Details

1939 Born, Wales

Educated in Wales, France and Switzerland

1959 - 1963 Byam Shaw School of Art, London

1983 Guest Student, Royal Academy Schools

1987 Elected as a member of the Royal Society of British Artists

Society Memberships

Royal Society of British Artists

Scholarships, Awards, Prizes

1986 Elected life member of The Royal Society of British Artists
Leverhulme Bursary
Oppenheim Award
Davis Slade Award
Daler Rowney Award for Best Oil Painting RBA 2006

Exhibitions

Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2019
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2018
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2016
Royal Society of British Artists Annual Exhibition 2015

Other exhibitions

Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition

Royal Society of British Artists

New English Art Club

Royal Society of Portrait Painters

Royal Scottish Academy 

Art Exhibitions Bureau Touring Exhibition

Singer & Friedlander Watercolour Prize Exhibition

Numerous galleries in Britain and abroad

Commissions

Price guide

Oil

16" x 12": 
£850
20" x 16": 
£1,200
24" x 20": 
£1,800
30" x 25": 
£2,500
36" x 28": 
£3,500

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