Rick Everingham

Artist's Biography

Rick Everingham was born in Sydney, NSW in 1945.

In 1962, when he was 17 years old, Rick began working as a commercial artist and also took up painting studies with artist Graeme Inson. In 1966 he furthered his art studies with instruction for six months from the watercolourist G. K. Townshend. That year he also exhibited his work for the first time in a group show in Sydney, where he sold all his paintings.

1966 was a busy year with establishing a new art studio in Melbourne, being called up for National Service to become pilot, and a transfer to Amberley in Brisbane for Helicopter Flying Training with the Army Aviation  Regiment.  Soon after Rick was involved in serious helicopter crash, resulting in a fractured spine and five months recovery in hospital. In 1968 he was discharged from the army and began work in Brisbane as freelance commercial artist, as well as continuing with his painting.

Rick began painting full time in 1969. A year later he held his first one-man exhibition in Brisbane and ceased commercial artwork to paint full time. Over the decades since, Rick has progressively established himself as a respected artist with a strong following and successful career.

He has worked continuously as a painter, holding numerous exhibitions in various galleries and shows in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast, Rockhampton, Orange, Newcastle, Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne, International shows have also been held in Los Angeles, Tokyo, and in Italy in Soiana and San Gimignano.

In 1977 Everingham made a seventh month study tour of galleries and museums in Europe and the United States.

In 1982, Rick held his first private exhibition in his own studio/gallery.

In 1986, Rick exhibited in a mixed exhibition “The New Outback – Australian Art Today” in Los Angeles and presented pieces in a mixed exhibition in Switzerland as part of a promotion for Brisbane’s bid for the 1992 Olympic Games.

1987 saw a move to Spring Hill in Brisbane and the opening of his Victoria Street Gallery.In 1989  Ricks’s works were shown in Japan in a number of exhibitions, including a solo exhibition at the Striped House Museum of Art in Tokyo, sponsored by Qantas, the Australian Embassy and the  Australia Japan Foundation; a mixed exhibition at Daicolo Gallery in Osaka that featured 9 Australian Photographers titled “Shot From Down Under”, and at the Kodak Photo Salon, in Ginza, Tokyo which was sponsored by Kodak and Continental Airlines.

A two-month painting trip to Italy in 1991 brought about a major shift in focus and change to his subject matter, with Rick then taking annual trips to Italy, and visits to Greece and France. These trips fuelled his passion for finding different subjects and inspired a large body of work that captured the essence of these places. He continues to make regular painting trips to Italy and many of his paintings show this European influence.

1992 saw Rick exhibiting with Grazia Lolli Redini at Palazzo Ciotta in San Gimignano, Tuscany, Italy, and the honour of being a Finalist in The Doug Moran National Portrait Prize.

A few years later in 1996, he took an extended trip to Europe to gather painting material from the Greek Islands.  In 1997, whilst in Australia, Everingham filmed a sequence painting on Fraser Island for the “Wildlife” program with Olivia Newton-John, as well as visiting Italy for the Spring.

The following year in 1998, saw another painting trip to France, Italy and Turkey and the sale of his house, studio and gallery in Brisbane. By 1999 Everingham had moved to Italy to enable a closer connection to his subject matter and bought a house in Tuscany where he set up a new studio and fulfilled a life-long dream of also making sculptures in bronze and marble. Everingham says of is forays into sculpture: “… they are providing me with a completely different medium for expressing ideas.

Some years later in 2002, Everingham then bought Trevenen House Gallery in New Farm, Brisbane and renamed it Graydon Gallery to use as studio and exhibiting base in Australia, as well as a hired exhibition venue for other artists. Two years later he sold Graydon Gallery to devote more time and energy to his paintings and passion for travel.

In 2005 Everingham was granted temporary residence in Italy and renovated a home and studio there, residing and painting in Italy for five years before returning to live in Brisbane in 2010, and celebrating his 40th year as a full-time artist with the milestone of his 100th one-man exhibition.

The second decade of the 2000’s saw several new residences for the Everingham’s with a move to Sydney in 2012 where Rick established a new studio; then moved to Maleny in Queensland, and travelled to Italy to sell his Italian residence at Soiana. Rick remained in Maleny for a few more years, buying a home there in 2015, establishing a new studio, and opening his own gallery, the Rick Everingham Studio/Gallery in 2016.  By 2017, the Everingham’s had closed the Maleny galley and moved back to Brisbane to embrace a lifestyle that allowed more time for painting and sculpture. Future trips to Italy and France, and possibly Greece, are planned for the future, with Rick’s fascination for Europe remaining strong.

Everingham has won a number of art awards, including the Orange Art Purchase in 1972; the Redcliffe Art Prize in 1972, 1973 and 1974; the American Bicentennial Prize in Brisbane in 1976; and the Stanthorpe Art Prize in 1980. He has also been a finalist in the Doug Moran National Portrait Prize in 1992; finalist in the Paddington Art Prize in Sydney in 2015; finalist in the Stanthorpe Art Prize in 2016; and winner of the Oil Painting Prize for Local Artist Local Content at the Caloundra Regional Art Gallery in 2016.

Everingham’s paintings have been exhibited in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Newcastle, Orange and Canberra and are held in private and corporate collections all over Australia, as well as in the USA, United Kingdom, France, Japan, New Guinea, New Zealand, Spain, Greece and Italy.

His paintings are generally oil and acrylic on board or canvas. They are characterised by a sense of subtle light and the ambience of the many places he has visited.

The charm and warmth in his pieces often derives from his depiction of reflections, the patina on walls, and interesting architectural details in windows and doors – subjects that have remained a constant in his work. Everingham also portrays beaches, hillsides, still life, portraits and children.

Speaking about his work, Everingham says:  “My paintings have always been concerned with the passage of time on surfaces …. Italy has a wealth of ancient surfaces, rich with character. I am intrigued by the physical appearance of places, and their patina of history, but I also try to express the subtleties of my experience of being there.

 Our society seems intent on expressing ever-increasing numbers of disturbing images. I do not wish to add to them. I have no need to make political statements, nor be on the cutting edge of artistic expression.

 We tend to forget that it is possible to view life in a way that makes it positive and full of joy. I believe the world is a truly magical place where all things are somehow connected. My paintings are my experience of that connection. I like to create works that remind me that simple beauty is still in existence, wherever I choose to find it. I have two requirements of my paintings. They must be uplifting to the spirit, and beautiful objects in themselves.Wherever I go I find certain images, or certain situations, or subtleties, or colours that strongly appeal to me.  I see wonderful connections between these things, and they seem to have a resonance with something inside me.  That produces a special feeling, and I find great satisfaction in trying to express it in my work.”