David Sawyer RBA and Michael John Ashcroft ROI visit York

In late March, York played host to contemporary landscape painters David Sawyer and Michael John Ashcroft, who coincided their trip to York to meet and delight passers-by with an afternoon of plein air painting in the heart of the city. 

The two artists share a draughtsman like approach to painting, deftly sketching their subject, before slowly building up the hues, light and shadow of the ever-changing scene before them. For those lucky enough to observe this process, it becomes apparent that there is a certain feeling and dynamic energy imbued when painting en plein air, quite unlike anything else.

As renowned and respected artists of broad acclaim, Both David and Michael are both members of prestigious art intuitions, the Royal Society of British Artists and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters respectively. This recognized quality is immediately apparent when viewing their work, including those found within our collections. The newly acquired city scenes and landscapes by David and Michael are available to view in both in our York gallery and on our website.  

Seeing the world from an artist's point of view and watching as their world takes shape before your very eyes is a precious experience to be treasured. We throughly enjoyed welcoming David and Michael to York for this special day and very much hope to do so again soon.