Christine Relton & Tom Marine

COLOURBOX

The artists
The paintings
Exhibitions
sales and commissions
work with schools
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Welcome to Relton Marine - original, contemporary paintings by two established professional artists.

Christine was trained at Leeds and Lancaster and Tom at Byam Shaw and Chelsea School of Art and both have been involved in painting and printmaking for over 30 years.

Since meeting 14 years ago they have been making their living exclusively from painting collaboratively and over the years have become widely known for their original style. They show and sell extensively with galleries in London and throughout the UK and have completed many commissions for both private and corporate buyers.
They work from a studio in their garden overlooking Wharfedale in West Yorkshire and welcome visits to see them there.

Tom and Christine also run the company Colourbox, where they take their own and other artists' work to art fairs around the UK and Europe.

Upcoming Events

Summer exhibition: Ainscough Gallery, London

Summer exhibition: Byard Art, from 2 July, Cambridge, July 2010

Exhibition: Biscuit Factory, from 10 September 2010

Devon Art Fair, Torquay, September / October 2010

Edinburgh Art Fair, November 2010

London Art Fair with Byard Art, January 2011

Affordable Art Fair, Milan with Byard Art, February 2011

 

Statement On Work

We work together on the same canvas. The paintings can be described as representational in that we start with an idea of a real place or event, usually based on some where we've been or something that happened - travel features a lot as the colours and images are stronger and more memorable.

We'll decide what we want to paint in terms of where and what and discuss rough ideas and colours. Under painting has become more and more important to give depth and texture and this is primarily Tom's job. He stretches and primes all our canvases and spends hours getting the surface and colours looking good. Christine has no patience with this but is more interested in the overall composition. She works very fast and Tom's other job is to tell her when to leave the painting alone and give it room to breathe. As a result, we don't often paint at the same time but will get together to decide how to finish the painting and discuss what's working and what isn't and make changes. At this stage it's not unusual to change the composition and repaint whole areas again.

This amount of over painting and adjustment is the good thing about working together as it stops you from getting too stale or too precious about the work. We always use acrylic paint for the same reason - it dries fast and allows a lot of manipulation and re-painting. The most successful pieces end up as more an amalgamation of imagery rather than one image of a specific place.

We consider it finished when the balance and composition feel right, the colour works and the result is fresh and full of energy. The idea is to leave the viewer to interpret to a certain degree what they are looking at and leave space for their ideas to give meaning to the painting..

Christine RELTON 1959

Painter, born in Cumbria. Studied at Jacob Kramer in Leeds and gained Fine Art Degree from Lancaster based on time spent in India. Has also lived in Japan and Vietnam and painted widely throughout South East Asia. Imagery and focus on colour reflect this time.
Since returning to the UK in 1996 has made collaborative representational works with TOM MARINE which continue to explore similar themes of place and memory. These works are exhibited widely in gallery spaces and contemporary art fairs (see exhibitions )

Tom MARINE 1956

Painter, born in Hartlepool. Studied at Byam Shaw and Chelsea College of Art. As well as exhibiting and selling through galleries and fairs (see exhibitions) is also involved in Art in Education. Paints in collaboration with CHRISTINE RELTON on representational works. Has completed many commissions in the health and private sector with Christine Relton and is involved in running workshops with children and various charities.
Also exploring printmaking and has a separate focus in working with text which is mainly used in his work with children's workshops in schools.


all images copyright Christine Relton and Tom Marine