Roger Allen

Roger Allen is a professional artist working in the mediums of oil and watercolour. Based in Derbyshire for over 25 years, the dramatic and changing landscape of the Peak District through the seasons provides constant inspiration for the paintings for which he is renowned. Roger has exhibited at galleries throughout the Midlands and East Anglia and has paintings in the collections of Derbyshire County Council, The Landmark Trust, Wellingborough Borough Council and Sir Paul Smith, as well as over 500 paintings in private collections from America to Zimbabwe. The tradition of the Romantic movement in British landscape painting may be discerned in his work, but a long association with farming informs an awareness that this is a working landscape; realism as opposed to idealism. Usually working 'en plein air' he follows the Pre-Raphaelite precept of truth to nature as can be seen in his closely observed work. Less well known is Roger's fascination with the urban landscape; whether this be remnants of the industrial past or the developing modern city, but always looking for a defining moment, monumental, dramatic, possibly transient. "most of my current work is in watercolour which has an immediacy and translucence fitting for landscape paintings. I work with a traditional technique of overlaid washes but push this to the limit to achieve the realistic effects I desire" Roger was educated at Wellingborough Grammar School and Trent Park College of Education, where he qualified as an art teacher receiving a 'Distinction' in Art (although he did not take this up as a career). He was elected a member of the Northampton Town and County Art Society in 1985 and joined Peak District Artisans in 2011. Principal exhibitions and awards: Royal Academy summer exhibition 1993/2013 Royal Watercolour Society Open 2012/11/09 Sunday Times Watercolour Competition 2015/13/12/08 Derbyshire Watercolour Prize 2012/08/03