Rita Mitchell, Artist

My art training started at the Southport School of art and then at Strines Atelier, Manchester Calico Printers Association.  My work there was as a designer colourist.  The application of colour theory in my painting stems from this early experience.

 

1984 Lancaster University Degree in Fine Art and English. Awarded a 2.1 BA Hons.

1986 City and Guilds teaching in Further Education.  Art and A level English.

1988 A series of four articles  ‘Aspects of Style’  published in the Jennings Literary Magazine.

1989 Article published in the Times Higher Education Supplement ‘Creation by Conception’

1989 Article, ‘The Value of Art’ published in The Artist magazine.

1990 Second prize, Royal Birmingham Society of Artists for a Dry Point Print, ’Mother and Child’

1990 Work placed in the ‘accepted but not hung’ category Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.

From 1992 I concentrated on building my art publishing business in South Wales. I have published over 250 images.  In 1993 my first calendar ‘Wales in Watercolour’ by Rita Mitchell, started a run which lasted fifteen years and culminated in four separate calendars and sales of nearly 20,000 in the last year. Cards, prints and calendars were sold in W H Smith, Tesco, and Boots as well as many department stores and tourist attractions. During the same period I exhibited in galleries in Lancashire, Birmingham, Nottingham and Wales with six solo exhibitions in Swansea.

I have original works in private collections in Australia, America and Japan and my calendars and greeting cards have been sent all over the world.

2000 I have been awarded three ‘Holbrook Trust Prizes’ since joining the Nottingham Society of Artists on arrival in Nottingham and held three solo shows in their gallery.

2002, I exhibited at the Spring Fair at the NEC Birmingham picking up business from the UK and from the Netherlands for lap trays with my images on.

2004 Fifteen of my paintings were exhibited in Osaka, Japan, after being chosen by Hankyu International.

2005. Elected Fellow of the Nottingham Society of Artists.

2006 - 2019 Chairman of the Spotted Dog Art Group in Beeston.

 

I now concentrate on painting and teaching from my studio in Ormskirk.