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Born in Lincolnshire, Roy Petley's career has spanned over thirty years during which time he has established his reputation as one of the finest figurative artists living today.
Roy's work hangs in hundreds of private collections throughout the world, of which the most famous are those of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh and His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales.
These fine watercolours, pastels, oils on paper and sanguines are all executed with Roy's trademark spontaneity. His traditional and much loved subject matter is given a fresh approach creating lively and often delicate compositions with an emphasis on light, shade and colour.
His nudes, drawn from life in warm sanguines and subtle pastel, capture an atmosphere of quiet intimacy. The girl in the bath in pastel, observed from behind is reminiscent of Degas. Roy's mastery of the medium with his rich palette of both vibrant and soft colours and his wonderful painting technique, create compositions that are full of life and immediacy. The charming composition of two girls wearing straw hats relaxing in a punt with a parasol on a lazy sunny afternoon evokes a mood of calmness and tranquility.
In his watercolours, Roy once again inspires with his ability to turn his hand to this difficult medium. His scenes of Venice, one of his much loved subjects, are imbued with the atmospheric hazy light that glows out from the paper. The waiting gondolas with the distant view of the lagoon and St Marks in the distance, so familiar, but Roy brings it to life with the sparkling water reflecting the rich colours and light of Venice.
He goes back to his roots with atmospheric watercolours of the Norfolk landscape with its dramatic skies with billowing clouds and the wind rushing through the trees. In his familiar and charming beach scenes with traditional beach huts and groups of figures picnicking on the sand and paddling in the sea, we again find these lively, light infused watercolours sparkle with life.