This painting encapsulates the qualities for which Andy Wood is noted; his fluency with watercolour, his ability to paint water and to recreate light, reflection and shadows on water, and finally his capacity for expressing a profound serenity. His landscapes, river scenes and marines breathe the spirit of place, whether rural or urban, and he shows a supreme ability to organize a composition into a satisfying pattern. Here, the geometrical structure of the painting, with its strong verticals and diagonals, emphasizes the sense of activity brought to rest in the silent, moored boats; this is underlined again by the clarity of the reflections on the still surface of the harbour.
Biographical details
Born in Porlock, Somerset, Andy Wood spent his formative years in Surrey. He studied painting at Croydon and Newport Colleges of Art, gaining a degree in Fine Art (Painting) and Film in 1970.
Having left art school he had many different jobs before becoming a full time artist. Starting out as an assistant school caretaker he soon moved on to become a stage electrician at the London Palladium where, amongst other duties, he maintained the theatre’s famous revolving stage; operated the central stage lift; and worked with lighting and sound during performances. This was followed by a period living in Snowdonia, North Wales, designing posters and programmes for pop concerts. Then a year helping to build a children’s arts centre, teaching arts and crafts, and working with a “Theatre in Education” drama group in Sussex. After which he moved back to London where he ran an arts centre and worked on adventure playgrounds in Hammersmith.
In 1977, after a year at teacher training college in Twickenham, he moved to Dorset to concentrate on painting full-time. While living in Charmouth he joined the Dorset Fire & Rescue Service as a Retained Firefighter and continued in the fire service until 2002. In 1996 he opened the Andy Wood Gallery in Lyme Regis which showed his paintings and prints as well as the work of other artists and friends.
In 2002 he closed the gallery and moved to Rye in East Sussex. In 2010 he was elected Hon. Secretary of the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours.
As a member of both the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and the Royal Society of British Artists he regularly exhibits in their annual shows at the Mall Galleries, London. His work has also featured in numerous exhibitions in England, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Canada and the United States of America. Andy Wood’s paintings are in the collections of His Majesty the Sultan of Oman, the Central Carolina Bank, the Chelsea Arts Club, the Lyme Regis Museum and Duke University.