Congratulations to our newly elected members!
Congratulations to our newly elected members!

Following recent elections at the ROI AGM we have the great pleasure to announce the following new full members of the ROI:

  • Andrew Farmer ROI
  • Alice Hall ROI
  • Rob Pointon ROI

We are also delighted that we have three newly elected Associate members.

  • Michael J Ashcroft
  • Derek Daniells
  • Tom Stevenson

Well done to all and we’re really looking forward to working closely together with you in the future.

Andrew Farmer ROI

Born 1985, Rotherham, South Yorkshire. 

Andrew studied Fine Art Painting at the University of Canterbury Christ Church (2005-2008) achieving a First Class Honours, followed by a postgraduate, ‘The Drawing Year’ at the Royal Drawing school, London (2008-2009).

Painting primarily in oils, Andrew tackles a range of subjects including highly personal family scenes, rural/urban landscape, and portraiture.

“I’m passionate about producing work which is heavily rooted in observation and thrive on the act of looking, analysing and trying to understand the world around me.” 

Since first exhibiting with the Royal Institute Of Oil Painters in 2014, Andrew has been awarded 1st and 2nd prize Winsor and Newton Award for painting, and in 2019 the Menena Joy Schabe Memorial Award.

“I love to paint the ordinary, analysing simple subjects that will encourage the viewer to look more closely at the many wonderful and beautiful things surrounding us daily.”

Andrew is a member of the Brit Plein Air group, The Northernboys painting group and most recent, a full member of the ROI.

Upon his election to full member of the ROI, Andrew says “Being elected a full member of the ROI is really a dream come true and a wonderfully surreal feeling. 

In 2014 I applied to the annual open exhibition for the first time, not really knowing what to expect. After the success of that very first submission, I felt a deep sense of belonging and a real urge to become part of the ROI family. 

My submissions have always been incredibly personal and it means such a great deal to have been elected on this basis. 

I look forward to what the years ahead will bring and can’t wait to become more involved with this outstanding society. 

A heartfelt thank you to every single person that has shown me support over the past few years.”

Alice Hall ROI

Alice Hall b.1983 is a London based Artist working in oils. She was awarded an Art Scholarship to Wychwood School, followed by an Fine Art Foundation at Byam Shaw (2002-2003). From here she went to Newcastle University studying Fine Art with a semester at Bratislava Art School. (2003-2007)

As a Plein Air painter she sets up an impromptu studio wherever the inspiration takes her. Alice looks more like a vagrant than an Artist, wearing many paint encrusted layers. Her aim is to capture mood and character of a scene, she often searches out unusual vantage points to work from. Increasingly Alice has been exploring a warmer palette to accompany her loose brushstrokes. Alice is currently making paintings towards her next solo exhibition.

Upon her election to full member of the ROI  Alice says “ I have been selected to exhibit annually with the ROI since 2012 and it is a huge honour the members have decided to elected me a full member. It is a historic society and is exciting to be counted amongst its members, I look forward to getting to know my fellow members better.”

Rob Pointon ROI

Rob Pointon b.1982 paints entirely en plein air with particular interest in wide angle perspectives and capturing movement.

He has been a professional artist for 13 years after achieving a 1st class honours degree in Fine Art from The University of Wales Aberystwyth and postgraduate study on ‘The Drawing Year’ at The Royal Drawing School in Shoreditch. He is a member of the outdoor painting group ‘The Northern Boys’ and has travelled and exhibited widely with his career. In May this year Rob was commissioned to paint live at a Royal Gala Dinner to celebrate the conservation of The Painted Hall in Greenwich.

Rob has exhibited with the ROI since 2014, he won last year’s ROI Paint Live and the Menena Joy Schwabe Memorial Award.

Upon being elected a full member of the Royal Institute of Oil painters Rob says “This year’s ROI annual exhibition private view was a particularly warm and friendly event. A few artists mentioned that it was like their Instagram feeds had all stepped out and met in real life for the day. The world of social media means all the exhibiting artists are well educated in one another’s work and as a result are full of admiration and respect for each other. To be in a room with such talented and dedicated company surrounded by some of their finest recent work was exhilarating. To earn a place amongst these, some of the leading painters in the country is the pinnacle of my professional career and something I have strived for since I first submitted to exhibit alongside the members a decade ago. There is fresh energy and optimism in the society and there are further waves of talent knocking at the door. I am excited for the future of British oil painting.”

Michael Ashcroft AROI

Born in 1969, Michael J Ashcroft grew up in the small village of Croston in Lancashire. After leaving school he began his career as an engineer, painting and sketching only in his spare time. In 1998 Michael was diagnosed with a brain tumour which was successfully removed but left him with some disabilities. In his own words he says. ‘I saw my reflection in the hospital window looking back at me and I knew then I was going to become an artist, it was something I had only dreamt about. This was a poignant moment and it changed my life’. I returned back to college and did numerous art classes. I also started life drawing on a weekly basis which was invaluable in helping me to become a painter. I consider myself a studio and plein air painter in oils. I try keep a healthy balance between the two which really works for me. The foundations which underpin my work hasn’t changed and that is my fascination with light and dark and my love for painting the city and the landscape.

Upon hearing of his election Michael said “It’s an absolute honour to be accepted into the ROI. To be able to exhibit and be part of a group which has some of the finest painters is a dream come true for me. It’s been a heck of a journey since that day in hospital with more operations but art, artists and painting has always kept me going and will continue to do so.”

Derek Daniells AROI

I am delighted to have been made an Associate Member of the ROI. 

For me, the ROI means being part of a group that shares its passion for oil painting, its high quality of work & diversity of subject matter. Painting can be a solitary business, but being part of the ROI, I also see as a great opportunity to meet & chat with fellow painters.  

Having spent my earlier life in the construction industry in senior management roles, I decided to pursue painting full time in 1993 encouraged by acceptance into various open exhibitions including The Mall Galleries and the Bankside Gallery. Also in 1999, I started showing with W.H.Patterson in London where I was to spend a successful twelve years exhibiting in their five and six man shows, Venice in peril annual show and other mixed exhibitions. 

Oils are my preferred medium but I also work in acrylic. Most of my work is conceived on site where it is either finished at the time or used as a springboard for working larger in the studio.

I have exhibited widely throughout the U.K. including the open exhibitions of the R.O.I/ R.W.S./P.S./ R.B.A. (winning the Daler Rowney painting award in 2009) and The Wapping Group of Artists. 

My paintings are included in many collections both in the UK and abroad including Henrietta, Duchess of Bedford.  

Over the years, I have contributed to several books on painting, including The Collins Artist Manual amongst others. I am also listed in Who’s Who in Art. I was regularly commissioned to write articles for The Artist/ The Leisure Painter and also contributed to articles in Pratique des Art (French publication) and the International Artist.

I was elected a full member of The Wapping Group of Artists in 2012.

Tom Stevenson AROI

Tom Stevenson was born in 1984 and is based in Devon where he works from life to create paintings that follow a path between figurative and abstract styles to explain the light and colour of his surroundings. 

Tom is drawn to subjects such as the coast, figures and the dramatic skies seen over the surrounding countryside. Away from home, Tom frequently paints the architecture and busy streets of London and abroad.

In his paintings Tom relies upon the uncontrollability of oil as a medium to build a fresh and organic surface. His work is underpinned by a strong composition and is often constructed around a simple compositional idea or collection of colours which form the starting point and focus of the painting.

Tom has exhibited with the Royal Institute of Oil Painters regularly since 2015. On being elected, he said ‘it’s a real privilege and honour to be elected to the institute. As well as representing some of the most exciting painters currently working in the UK, the ROI has been hugely supportive to me in my development as a painter. The Institute has always been a massive positive influence, particularly to young artists and I hope and look forward to continuing this important tradition as a member.’