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Ad Code: 3
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An example of work by Michael James Riddet
Artwork images are copyright of the artist or assignee
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Biography from AskART:
| The following biography, submitted March 2007, is from the artist whose studio is in Gay Mills, Wisconsin.
Although best known for 30 years as a painter of natural history, a new
direction began in 1997 when Riddet began exploring the techniques and
history of Trompe l'Oeil painting. Today, the majority of his
easel work is in this style.
Born in Northwest England in 1947on the southern fringe of England's
famed Lake District, Michael Riddet was surrounded by an environment
that was to leave an indelible image of natural beauty. His
family emigrated to the U.S. and settled in Illinois in 1956. It
wasn't until his early teens that a keen interest in painting was
rekindled when introduced to the art collection hanging on the walls of
his middle school walls, a collection amassed by the school principal,
Nettie J. McKinnon with funds raised from magazine subscriptions sold
by the students. Each year, McKinnon would carefully select what
she felt were "good" pieces of work from both American and European
painters. A portrait by John Singer Sargent was added and hung in
Riddet's art room in 1960. Today, the "Nettie J. McKinnon Collection of
American Art" is priceless.
Being surrounded by great art in school and access to work of marine
painter, Charles Vickery, who had a studio in the same town, were the
catalysts that prompted Riddet to seriously think of pursuing an
artistic journey. Vickery encouraged the young artist, and
regular Saturday morning studio chat sessions with other professional
painters only heated the desire to paint full time. Vickery's
philosophy was that it was possible to make a living at the easel if
you are willing to make sacrifices and starve graciously.
American painters who had the greatest early influence on Riddet were
John Audubon and Andrew Wyeth, but Riddet's preoccupation with this
naturalistic realism and tight rendering did not fit in with the art
worlds' or university's preoccupation with Modernism during the 60's so
he pursued a degree at Roosevelt University in Chicago in his other
area of interest, the natural sciences. This turned out to be a
wise decision as he landed a day job job as artist/naturalist with a
local forest preserve district designing exhibits, writing, lecturing
and teaching environmental education.
His efforts turned to the easel at night painting natural history
subjects for an ever increasing number of clients. A big break
came in 1975 when Emmett Reid Blake, Curator Emeritus of Birds at
Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History recommended to the Chicago Tribune Magazine
that they use Riddet's work to accompany a story on birds of the
Midwest. At the same time, the dean of Canadian bird painters,
Terence Shortt, recommended that Riddet paint full time.
As easel work increased and a major commission on African birds for Animal Kingdom Magazine
began to take up most of his time, Riddet and his wife decided to pull
up stakes, cash everything in and cast all common sense to the
wind. In 1979 they purchased fifty acres in Southwest Wisconsin
and designed and built their house and studios.
His originals have now been shown in over 60 museums here and
abroad. Michael Riddet was elected in 1996 to the Society of
Animal Artists and has received the bronze medal of excellence.
He was elected into the Chicago Palette & Chisel Academy of Art in
2001, and is also a member of the International Guild of Realism.
The transition to trompe l'oeil painting was not a conscious decision
initially, but he found it technically challenging and inventive,
allowing imagination and occasionally humor to dictate the subject
material. He also admits that it is pure "fun". An aspect
of natural history is still found in most works and occasionaly a
social, political or environmental message. Some works simply
invite the viewer into interpreting the painted image. |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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Michael Riddet is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
Trompe l'Oeil Painting
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