'I am a painter of the physical world – the visible, the audible and the tangible. Light and nature are my subject matter. As such, one might imagine that these preoccupations were gender neutral, but this is not the case. Although all my paintings begin their lives with a rigorous, minute observation of the landscape – later to be transmuted into their final ‘abstract’ state in my studio – they are very personal, intuitive, and emotional records of this process of observation, mediated by my response to a particular place in the world. I am interested in how I fit into this world and I am compelled to explore the powerful sense of connection that I feel with the elements that I paint – land, sea, sky and water. No one has ever mistaken the author of my paintings as male, despite my name. Why is this?

Many years ago, in the glory days of feminism, I was involved with a collective of woman artists who staged a highly controversial exhibition at the ICA called Women’s Images of Men. My central painting was a portrait of a beautiful young man. After the show ended, buoyed up by our notoriety, we met up and scratched around for a title for our next show. We were at a loss. My son, cast adrift in a sea of women, helpfully suggested ‘Women’s Images of Trees’, a surrealist idea that could only have been concocted with the seriousness of a three year old. It caused no hilarity in this august gathering and this was the moment I left the group. But I think I have been taking his advice ever since.' 

- Robin Richmond 

Robin Richmond is a painter of the physical world - the visible, the audible and the tangible. Light and nature are her subject matter. Although all of her paintings begin their lives with a rigorous, minute observation of the landscape - later to be transmuted into their final 'abstract' state in her studio - they are very personal, intuitive, and emotional records of this process of observation, mediated by her response to a particular place in the world. She is interested in how she fits into this world and is compelled to explore the powerful sense of connection that she feels with the elements that she paints - land, sea, sky and water.