We have the great pleasure to announce that John Walsom has been elected a full member of the ROI. Many congratulations!
We are also delighted that we have two newly elected Associate members. Well done to Andrew Farmer AROI and Rob Pointon AROI. It’s a great achievement and we’re really looking forward to working closely together with you in the future.
John Walsom ROI
John Walsom is a Surrey artist who’s renowned for his paintings of landscapes and architectural subjects. He has illustrated the buildings of some of the best known companies and people in the world.
John began in the 1970s by selling his paintings of local scenes from the railings of the Bayswater Road in London. Most of these early works are now scattered around the world, from the Americas to Japan. In the 1980s he worked at a much larger scale as a scenic artist, painting huge canvases and backdrops for live theatre. He has also been a theatre design consultant, a registered architect and a photographer.
Since 1990 John has specialised in painting architectural and landscape subjects, in oils, watercolour and acrylics. His success has been built on a sense of enjoyment and light in all his pictures, and a thorough understanding of his subjects and his technique. The demand for his work today means that most of his time is filled with commissions for paintings and illustrations. John has produced pictures for banks and property developers, magazines, advertising agencies, architects and designers.
He was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters in 2017, and has also exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Show, and with the Royal Society of Marine Artists, the Royal Society of British Artists, Chelsea Art Society, and the Wapping Group of Artists, of which he is a member.
 John Walsom AROI |
!['Outside the V&A' by Johnny Walsom AROI](https://theroi.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Walsom-John-Outside-the-VA.jpg") ‘Outside the V&A’ by John Walsom AROI |
Andrew Farmer AROI
“I’m extremely grateful to the ROI for electing me as an associate member. Since first being included in the annual exhibition 4 years ago I felt a deep connection with the art on the walls as well as with the members that I spoke with at the private view. It’s a dream come true for a young artist and I can’t wait to get stuck in this coming year. Thank you for making me part of the ROI family!
I paint primarily in oils tackling a range of subjects which include domestic family scenes (Interiors and garden), landscape, cityscape and portraiture. I’m a strong believer in tapping in to my locality for inspiration, often painting subjects within walking distance.
My work is produced almost exclusively from observation, I find this incredibly satisfying as well as intriguing. I have a real passion for painting ‘en plein air’ in the tradition of Constable and the Impressionists, creating works directly outdoors in the surrounding fields, my back garden and also further afield.
Sketchbooks play an important role in my practice. I create drawings to solve problems within my paintings, explore new subjects or simply to practice with no end in mind. I thoroughly enjoy drawing my young family, in the form of intimate individual portraits. I think it’s such an important thing to keep on searching and experimenting and sketchbooks offer me a place to do this, spontaneously and on a variety of scales and formats.
I’m currently working on a new series of larger works in oils exploring my local duck pond which include figures and wildlife. I love being able to find beauty in my locality but also enjoy opportunity to paint in new and inspiring places.
I love to paint the ordinary, elevating simple subjects that will cause the viewer to take more notice of the many wonderful and beautiful things surrounding us daily.”
 Andrew Farmer AROI |
 ‘The Garden’ by Andrew Farmer AROI |
Rob Pointon AROI
Born 1982, Rob Pointon has been painting since he was a child under the tutelage of his artist Grandmother, then, as an adult, graduated with a First Class Honours degree in Fine Art from Aberystwyth University before going on to study at The Royal Drawing School in London. Having been a full time professional artist since 2006, Rob’s skills have developedd through his work on locations all around the UK and abroad. Originally from the Staffordshire moorlands Rob is now based in South Cheshire.
Rob paints entirely en plein air and has a particular interest in the use of multiple point perspective and movement within his paintings, evidenced strongly with his depiction of water and crowds.
Painting on location brings an added dynamic to his work, galvanised by the engagement with the passing audience who can witness the development of a painting as it happens.
 Rob Pointon AROI |
![](https://theroi.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/rp2.jpg") ‘Union Jacks above Piccadilly’ by Rob Pointon AROI |