Profile

A landscape painter with a passion for our native trees and woodland, Richard seeks to capture the character and atmosphere of particular places in all seasons.

‘My practice as an artist is a cycle of outdoor exploration and studio work. I love the hours sitting quietly among the trees, and spend as much time gazing about as I do actually sketching. There’s something of the monk in me and I have learnt to embrace stillness and the feeling of being immersed in and part of the natural world. After a while most creatures get used to my presence and come close.

One day outdoors gives me enough material in the form of sketches, photos, sound recordings, notes and, just as importantly, my impressions and memories, for several weeks in the studio. My visual language is a mix of traditional representation and more experimental marks and colours to try and communicate the sounds, smells and feel of these places; an impossible quest which brings joy and utter frustration in equal measure.’

Richard is an invited member of The Arborealists, a national group of artists united around the tree motif. Site specific collaborations with this group include Exmoor and Dartmoor National Parks and Lady Park Wood in the Wye Valley with woodland ecologist George Peterken OBE which included the making of a book and film.

Artist-in-residence with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust for eight years, much of Richard’s painting is about their reserves. He recently completed a collaborative project, Wilder Hereford.

He is an inaugural member of The Place Collective set up by Harriet and Rob Fraser of somewhere-nowhere.

He is an active member of the Woodland Trust and a signatory to their Tree Charter.

Richard leads occasional art workshops and outdoor events publicised here and in his e-newsletters.

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BIO
Richard studied fine art at Hereford College of Arts and the University of Gloucestershire (Cheltenham School of Art), graduating with first class honours in 2008. His studio is at Unit 6 which is part of the Artsite3 complex in Hereford.

He exhibits in England and Wales in public and commercial galleries, and has been represented locally by the Apple Store Gallery since its inception in 2005.

Film, Television & Radio
Youtube - videos of my work as artist-in-residence with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust
BBC Radio Wales All Things Considered 4th April 2021 - talking about my watercolour ‘The Empty Tomb’ owned by the Methodist Modern Art Collection
BBC Television Countryfile 29th March 2020 - outdoor watercolour sketching as part of Lugg Valley Living Landscape with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust
Lady Park Wood - collaboration between the renowned woodland ecologist, George Peterken, and The Arborealists

Publications
Concrete Castles: Britain's War Defences of 1940 - comprehensive colour catalogue with essays to accompany the touring show
In the Wye Valley: A Meeting of River and People somewhere-nowhere Harriet Fraser & Rob Fraser, 2020
Art Meets Ecology, 2020, Sansom - The Arborealists respond to Lady Park Wood
Wildside, Spring 2020, p. 20-23, Into the Meadows with Artists and Poets…
Wildside, Winter 2018, p. 28-31, The Arborealist: Susannah English meets Artist-in-Residence Richard Bavin
The Observer, The New Review, 31st Dec 2017 p.28 Bark with Plenty of Bite by Rachel Cooke including image of Richard’s watercolour ‘Hazel Whipped by Autumn Wind’
Woodland Trust publication, I’m Standing Up for our Ancients, Oct 2017, all illustrations are of Richard Bavin’s paintings
The Arborealists: The Art of Trees, 2017, Plato-Beale Productions - catalogue with double page on my work
Welsh Border Life, Aug 2017, Inspired by the Country: Woodland Paintings by Richard Bavin by Matthew Pike
The Arborealists: The Art of the Tree, 2016, Sansom & Company - double page with images on my art practice

Collections
Methodist Modern Art Collection

Membership
The Arborealists
The PLACE Collective
Hon. President of Herefordshire Painting Club - plein air painters

Solo & Joint Shows
Lea & Paget’s Wood - Aug 2017, Apple Store Gallery, Hereford
Exploring Herefordshire - Aug 2015, Apple Store Gallery, Hereford
Brecon Beacons: sleet, snow and sunshine - Aug 2013, Apple Store Gallery, Hereford (with Maggie Banks)
Painting the Landscape - Jul-Aug 2013, Artists Studio, Monnow Valley Arts, Herefordshire (solo)
Orchard’s Seasons - Oct 2011, invited joint show, Apple Store Gallery
Spirit of Place - Jul 2011, The Bleddfa Centre, Powys (solo)
A Herefordshire Wood - Sep 2008, Apple Store Gallery (featured artist)
Trees & Water - Jul-Aug 2005, Apple Store Gallery (featured artist)

Selected Group Shows
Tree of Life - Nov-Dec 2023, The Arborealists at ACEArts, Somerton
At the Water’s Edge - Nov 2023, The Arborealists at The Pie Factory, Margate
Wilder Hereford in Art & Poetry - Jul-Aug 2023 Apple Store Gallery, group show co-curated with Marion Campbell
h.Art (Herefordshire Art Week) - annual event, shows include Little Logaston, Knill Church, St Michael’s Discoed, Print Shed
Save the Wye - Aug-Sep 2022, Canwood Gallery in Herefordshire
Trees and the Sacred - Apr-May 2022, The Arborealists at Norwich Cathedral Hostelry
Regeneration - 2022 touring show, The Arborealists, including one day conference at Fyne Court (National Trust)
Trees & Woodland of Exmoor - Nov 2021, group show by The Arborealists and friends, Lanacre Barn Gallery, Exmoor - fundraising to help National Park Authority create Bye Wood
Concrete Castles 1940: Britain’s War defences Then and Now - Jul 2021 ongoing, touring show curated by Tim Craven
Into the Meadows - curated with Apple Store Gallery in partnership with Herefordshire Wildlife Trust, touring show with public events and new poetry book summer 2021
Trees & Woodland on Exmoor & Dartmoor - Sep-Nov 2020, The Arborealists at Somerset Museum
Land into Art - Sep-Oct 2020, Made in the Marches Gallery curated show
Wildflower Meadows - Jun-Aug 2020, Apple Store Gallery, Hereford - invited group show
The Arborealists - Dec-Mar 2020, National Memorial Arboretum
The Arborealists & Guests - Sep-Oct 2019, Fyne Court (National Trust) - part of Somerset Art Festival
The Arborealists - Aug 2019, The Young Gallery, Salisbury
A Wye Valley Woodland Through Artists' Eyes - July 2019-2020, Monmouth Museum & Gallery
Made in the Marches - Nov-Jan 2019, group show linked to National Tree Week
Side by Side (The Arborealists & St Ives Society of Artists) - Sep-Nov 2018, St Ives
h.Art Open Studios - annual, Sep, The Print Shed with public art events
Artist Showcase - Sep 2018, Canwood Gallery, Herefordshire
The Arborealists - Jul-Aug 2018, John Davies Gallery, Moreton-in-Marsh
The Arborealists - Jul-Sep 2018, Black Swan Arts, Frome
The Arborealists in Lady Park Wood - May-Sep 2018, Monmouth Museum
The Arborealists - Dec-Jan 2018, Art Bermondsey Project Space, London
The Arborealists - Jul 2017, Les Dortoirs des Moins, Poitiers
Into the Woods - Jul 2017, Chapel Gallery, Bromyard
Ewyas Harold Festival of Arts - May 2017, Ewyas Harold, guest artist
The Arborealists - Apr-May 2017, Nature in Art, Twigworth
Picturing Faith - Jan-Apr 2017, Methodist Modern Art Collection @ Canterbury Cathedral
Forty Days, Forty Artists - Mar - Apr 2017, Discoed, mid Wales
y gallery caerffili - Dec 2016 - my work featured in Christmas Show
The Arborealists - Aug 2016, Westonbirt Arboretum
Crickhowell Open - Summer 2016 & 2014, Oriel CRiC, Crickhowell
The Arborealists - Apr-Jun 2016, St Barbe, Lymington
Under Welsh Skies - Feb-Mar 2014, invited show, Oriel CRiC, Crickhowell
Adrian Henri Prize: poetry in art - Apr 2013, Twenty Twenty Gallery, Much Wenlock, 30 artists shortlisted from 253 entries
Risen! - Mar-Apr 2013, Piano Nobile, London followed by
Art of Crucifixion & Eastertide - Monnow Valley Arts, Herefordshire, featuring Methodist Church Collection of Modern Christian Art e.g. Patrick Heron and Graham Sutherland alongside 15 invited contemporary artists
Stations of the Cross - Lent 2012, invited group show, Discoed
Orchard Odyssey - Apr 2011 invited show, Apple Store Gallery
Heritage Orchards - Sep 2010 invited show, Apple Store Gallery
Treescapes - Jan-Apr 2010 six artists, Barker Gallery, Pontypool
The Wickton Creative - Sep 2009, 2010 invited show, Stoke Prior
This Fragile Earth - Jul-Aug 2009 invited show, Monmouth
The Thin Line - Oct-Dec 2004 selected show, Barker Gallery, Pontypool

Residencies
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust - Wilder Artists & Poets 2021-22
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust - Treescapes of Herefordshire 2018-2021
Herefordshire Wildlife Trust - A year in Lea & Paget’s Wood 2016
Nature in Art - April 2015 & May 2012, 1 week residencies by invitation
Drawing the Light - Mar 2010, St Weonards Benefice, Herefordshire
Experimental Drawing - Jul 2007, Bleddfa Centre, Powys
Creative Roots - Jun 2006, Bleddfa Centre, Powys
Art & The Spirit - Jul 2005, Bleddfa Centre, Powys
Art in the Woods - Sep 2004, devised and project managed woodland art trail featuring 50 artists at Queenswood Arboretum
Outdoor Labyrinth - 1998-2000, led community project to raise funds & create full-sized replica of medieval labyrinth (Chartres Cathedral) in Lower Hutt, New Zealand