Roy Fairchild - Woodard was born in 1953 in Surrey, England.
He lives and works most of the year in his country home. This peaceful environment is fundamental
to his well being and stability as an artist, although he travels throughout Europe to obtain new
sources of inspiration. He is particularly influenced by the painters of the Renaissance and he
visits Italy in particular to study frescoes, tapestries and paintings and to see for himself the
techniques with which they were executed.
Fairchild’s vision is coloured by his immersion in this past. Fairchild’s surfaces are rich and
sumptuous and he uses varied interwoven elements such as fabrics and flowers in his work. The
crumpling plasterwork seen in ancient frescos are also alluded to in his use of plaster as base
for acrylic and oil over-painting.
His admiration for Egon Schiele and Gustav Klimpt can be seen in occasional references of line and
decoration but he has extended their techniques to produce something altogether bolder and
contemporary.
After leaving school at sixteen to train as a technical illustrator, he then took a degree in
graphic design. Having completed his education he set up his own studio. He soon found it difficult
to make a living from his own work and supported himself and his family for several years by
producing, under the name of Wooddard, illustrations for record sleeves, advertisements and books,
as well as decorative serigraphs and lithographs. He achieved considerable popularity with his
suites of pastel coloured figurative prints. Experimenting with different techniques he developed
entirely new methods of achieving effects in serigraphy to obtain qualities of light and colour that
are now in general use.
He eventually gained sufficient financial security to be able to give up his commercial illustrations
and return full time to this own painting and printmaking, which he does under his family name,
Fairchild.
As a printmaker he has found most favour with serigraphy where the rich, opaque colours of his work
is furthered by the medium, although his figure drawings he still prefers to translate into etchings.
For the past few years he has been giving classes to teach his skills and techniques to young artists