Art Tutor: Lynn Ralph

Lynn Ralph...

Lynn is a person who embraces life: easy to be with, chatty, insightful and simply brimming with personality she has the perfect personality for tutoring novice and experienced students alike.

South African-born, Lynn lives with her husband, her dog and two cats near Bergerac, in the Dordogne. She confesses to be totally in love with the area and enjoys taking inspiration from the local inhabitants and the numerous pretty towns and villages of this wonderful region.

Her artwork...

Embodying the traditional skills of painting and drawing, her artwork covers such divers subjects as:

• Landscapes

• Still-life

• Animals - both from a domestic setting and from nature

• Buildings and architecture

Lynn works in...

• Watercolour

• Acrylic

• Oils

• Mixed media

• Collage

• All traditional drawing materials

Training...

Born in 1950, and educated in Durban at the Johannesburg Art Foundation in South Africa, she qualified in fine arts under the mentorship of Bill Ainsley, an internationally recognised artist.

The Foundation was at the forefront of art development during the difficult years of social transition in South Africa and included such well known artists as William Kentridge, Lionel Abrahams, David Goldblatt and Lynda Ballen.

A variety of media...

Lynn studied at the Foundation for 10 years and developed her talents in a variety of art mediums, including watercolour, oils and acrylics. She also enjoys working in mixed media and became known in South Africa for her “interiors”.

Invited to teach at the Johannesburg Art Foundation she also taught at the Ernest Ulmann foundation, a centre of excellence in art in Johannesburg.

Lynn moved from Johannesburg to Durban in 1986 where she taught both adults and children for some 15 years.

Beginners and experienced artists...

Since moving to France in early 2001, Lynn has established an art studio where she and other local artists meet to work together and to develop their artistic talents.

She is experienced in teaching not only beginners, but experienced students and artists alike. And, with her wide range of skills, lessons can be tailored to suit individual needs and can include watercolour, acrylic, mixed media and collage.

Current projects...

When not taking classes here, Lynn leads a busy life conducting her own painting courses from her home.

She confesses that her other talent veers toward the green-fingered kind, and she can often be found tugging at the weeds and tending to her floral charges in her lovely cottage garden.

Says Lynn:

"I'm so content with life that I want to convey that in my paintings. Being able to then pass that on to other people is one of my top goals in life."