The Artists: Ruth Beloe

Ruth trained at Charles H Cecil Studios in Florence, a fine art school modelled on the ateliers of 19th Century Paris. There, over a period of three years she studied portrait and figurative drawing and sculpting using the ‘sight-size’ technique.

Once back in the UK she opened her studio in Ely and began accepting portrait commissions in both charcoal and clay. During this period she was appointed Artist in Residence at the Kings’ School, Ely.  

More recently, attracted by the different visual challenge it presents, Ruth has spent her time painting in oil. She returned to Florence for short periods in 2009 and 2010 to develop her painting technique at Studio Santo Spirito, and at present she works from her studio in York.

Taking inspiration from the work of artists such as Chardin and William Nicholson, Ruth's paintings explore the inherent beauty of everyday items and objects from nature.  Characteristics of her work include studies of the reflective qualities of surfaces, the use of directed light to form appealing shadows and the play of refracted light.​