York painter has brush with fame

6:10pm Wednesday 5th November 2008

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A TALENTED painter from York has returned home after mixing with top actors and directors as the official artist of an international film festival.

Richard Stuttle was spotted by organisers of Turkey’s Golden Orange Film Festival while he was painting in Cannes during the annual film festival in May.

They were so impressed by the 31-year-old’s work, they invited him to Antalya to be the official artist at Europe’s oldest film festival and Turkey’s equivalent to the Oscars.

Richard, who is the brother of murdered York backpacker Caroline Stuttle, must now produce six oil paintings, capturing the spirit and culture of the ten-day festival.

He said: “It was a great honour and privilege to be invited to such a prestigious film festival.

“I have a keen interest in the medium of cinema, and to combine this with my work as an artist has been an inspiring and exciting experience.”

During the festival, Richard spent time with a host of stars, including Danny Glover, Matthew Modine, Jürgen Prochnow, Paul Verhoeven, Michael Ironside and Charles Martin Smith.

Kevin Spacey, Mickey Rourke and Adrien Brody were also at the festival to receive awards.

He produced many watercolours and sketches while in Turkey and will now create six oil paintings from his studio in Scarborough.

Richard, who now lives in Allerthorpe, near Pocklington, said: “My idea was to catch the actors and directors in a relaxed setting – the glamour and splendour of a film festival combined with the true art of film.

“I am to create a series of six large oil paintings representing the different aspects of the film festival, from the opening ceremony and film markets, the late night parties in the impressive setting of the Hillside Su in Antalya through to the closing ceremony.”

All his paintings will be available to view on his website richardstuttle.com Richard plans to return to Turkey next year for the festival and hopes the contacts he made during this year’s event will help him to fulfil his ambitions as an artist.

He is also looking forward to a watercolour trip to Italy in November and the opening in March of a winter exhibition at Meribel, in the French Alps.

For more information, phone Richard on 07779 693240 or email info@richardstuttle.com