In conversation with BBC Radio Bristol Presenter Richard Lewis

In conversation with BBC Radio Bristol Presenter Richard Lewis

Posted on: 17 Nov 2018

The BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Somerset radio presenter, television producer and scriptwriter has launched a new website showcasing his striking and affordable original art.

Richard Lewis Painting

Renowned locally for his radio shows, long-time broadcaster, television producer and scriptwriter Richard Lewis is less known for his stunning art work. But that’s all about to change, as he launches a new website showcasing his paintings.

 

“When I’m not painting I’m writing, when I’m not writing I’m broadcasting and when I’m not broadcasting I’m painting.”

 

When not behind the microphone, you’ll find this man of many talents behind the easel creating original and affordable works of art.

 

Richard, 60, who now lives on the edge of the Cotswolds, says: “I’m a West Country boy, born in Chipping Sodbury and grew up in Coalpit Heath. Art has been a passion since I was a kid. At school, we used to get an exercise book where you could draw a picture at the top and write underneath – I always did the picture before I did the writing.”

 

Throughout his 20-year TV career, Richard has worked with the likes of impressionist Jon Culshaw, Great British Bake Off star Sandi Toksvig, chat show king Michael Parkinson, Noel Edmunds and more.

 

He writes for television and films and is a sought-after radio broadcaster, however Richard has always found art a precious form of escapism and relaxation. He predominantly works in oils, creating atmospheric beach scenes, landscapes and portraits, and he is always happy to take on commissions.

 

“I love to paint, I can get lost in a painting for hours,” Richard admits. “I always have a pen or a pencil in my hand. Drawing led to watercolours, and then acrylics, but because I had no formal training I was scared of oil paint. Then one day I was talking to Jack Russell, the artist and former England wicketkeeper, who said I should just go for it. He was right – and now I rarely paint in anything but oils.”

Richard Lewis Painting

Richard’s home is full of his captivating art work, covering landscapes, portraits and more abstract work, but many of his current paintings are seascapes and beach scenes.

 

“I don’t think you can beat a piece of original art,” says Richard. “A lot of galleries will charge you a fortune for a framed print that hundreds of other people have on their walls, too. Basically, they’re charging you for a nice frame. What I try to do is affordable, original art. There’s something about the shore; I’m fascinated by skies and water, shipwrecks, figures and dogs picking their way through sand and pebbles. I don’t know if it’s because we’re an island nation, but people seem drawn to paintings of the coast."

 

However, it took a commission from a family friend for him to consider taking it up professionally, turning his hobby into a business.

 

“From that, a number of people commissioned me to do work for them and I sold more and more. That let me to thinking about doing this commercially – there’s only so much space on my walls, after all!”

 

While painting has always been a passion of Richard’s, it was another gift which first enticed him away from home into the world of entertainment and broadcasting.

 

“I always wanted to entertain,” laughs Richard. “I had been doing stand-up routines around clubs since I was 14. I would do my acts and my impersonations, and they’d give me money. I thought ‘Wow, this is alright – this seems like a career I could do’.”

 

This led him to leave home at the age of 19 to become a Butlin’s Redcoat, before working for the company as a compere and producer for the next five years.

 

“Butlins was great because although we weren’t paid a great deal, I had a microphone in my hand nearly all of the time, so I learned how to talk to an audience. In those days, Butlins had enormous theatres on their campsites. The one at Minehead could seat nearly 2,000 people and had a stage nearly the size of the Bristol Hippodrome. While I was there, I got to write and produce shows, which I loved.”

Richard Lewis Painting

It was during his time at Butlins that Richard began to write and submit work for a Radio 2 show called The News Huddlines and Radio 4’s Week Ending. “That was in the late 70s/early 80s, and that’s how I got involved in radio,” he says.

 

Richard put a tape together – “a bit like a Goon show with a record or two” – and sent it off to the BBC in Bristol. He then met a producer who saw something in the eager, young talent. Richard starting working on a Saturday morning show and, when his season at Butlins came to an end, he found himself part of the BBC Radio Bristol team.

 

“It was a fascinating and very creative time,” says Richard. “I learned a lot.”

 

But in 1986, Richard received a phone call that would change the direction of his career.

 

“I had a call asking of I wanted to work on a television show with Noel Edmunds called Telly Addicts – and of course, I said yes. From there, I ended up being a producer in the BBC’s General Programmes Unit, which then became the Entertainment Department, and I worked my way up to becoming the head of the department. I also brought Call My Bluff back to television. It had been a rather erudite thing on BBC2 with Robert Robinson, and we brought it back with Sandi Toksvig, Alan Coren and Bob Holness as chairman. It was great and everyone wanted to appear on it because it had a certain cache. We did lots of panel and chat shows with such people as Noel Edmunds, Sandi Toksvig, Michael Parkinson and Jeremy Clarkson, I saw Jon Culshaw doing a show in Edinburgh and we put him on a daytime TV series, and the rest is history. He’s still a great buddy, and ironically it was Jon who presented me with the Gold Award for Best Local Radio Programme Presenter in 2016.”

Richard Lewis Painting

 

Today, Richard continues to write for television and broadcast on BBC Radio Bristol and BBC Somerset, but his love for putting oil on canvas competes for his time.

 

“There’s nothing quite like the joy of painting, but I am very much hoping that I can share that joy with a larger audience through my new online gallery.”

 

Richard’s unique, original and atmospheric art work comes at a range of sizes and prices, and is now for sale on his website here.

 

 

 


Article by:

Louise Knight

Louise Knight - a third-year English with Writing student at UWE Bristol with my own personal blog. Currently undertaking a temporary work placement at 365 Bristol, and an avid reader and writer.