Barry Fry's Biography
Born in Kent, Barry Fry has lived in Hampshire for over 25 years. As an artist, he not only takes his inspiration from the region's wonderful areas of outstanding natural beauty - including the South Downs, New Forest, local rivers and the Solent, but also from his travels to Dorset, Cornwall and abroad - particularly in France and Italy.
Barry is a self-taught artist who has been painting for eight years. In this respect, his journey as an artist is very much still evolving. Although his early paintings were done in watercolour, the more recent move to acrylics has also changed the dynamic and freshness of his work. Painting with pallet knives, his journey as an artist is still evolving and he acknowledges that he is still some way from discovering who Barry Fry the artist really is.
He is inspired by many impressionist painters of the past and more recent contemporary artists including Kurt Jackson, Cecil Rice and Fred Cuming. Such inspiration has encouraged a freer, bolder and richer approach to his work. In this respect, he is especially interested in exploring the use of colour and contrasting light so as to evoke strong connections and depth of feeling. Accordingly, his paintings are characterised with what might be called the qualities of impressionistic realism - yet always striving to be faithful to the sense of place.
