Andrew Blyth is a Rye-based artist who has enjoyed a successful career both as architect and landscape architect before dedicating himself full-time to painting in watercolour.
Few people combine the precision of an architect with the imagination of an artist as successfully as Andrew Blyth. After many years designing buildings and landscapes, he turned his attention to capturing them in watercolour. His paintings of Rye and the surrounding countryside are celebrated for their light, atmosphere and expressive brushwork, revealing not just what a place looks like, but how it feels. He finds inspiration also in marine and coastal scenes and loves nature and the sea.
Andrew has exhibited widely, including at the Rye Art Gallery and the Rye Society of Artists summer exhibitions.
Andrew lives at Peasmarsh Place and on Saturday 25 July, Emma Stonham, manager of the care home, organised an exhibition of his work. The proceeds of the exhibition were donated to the Seaview Project in St Leonards. Seaview’s range of support services helps marginalised people with addiction problems and mental health issues, ex-and at-risk offenders, and rough sleepers achieve personal growth and fulfilment. Andrew raised over £4,000 which is a tremendous boost for the Seaview Charity.
Emma commented on social media, “What a wonderful exhibition! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who came along to support Andrew and make his exhibition such a fantastic success. Seeing so many people celebrating his incredible talent made it a truly special occasion.
“It has been an absolute pleasure to support Andrew on his artistic journey. As a care home we are passionate about helping the people we support continue doing the things they love and we’re so proud to have encouraged Andrew to maintain and develop his passion for art while in our care. Watching his confidence and creativity flourish has been a privilege, and this exhibition is a wonderful reflection of his dedication and talent.
Thank you to everyone who came along, shared kind words, and supported Andrew. We couldn’t be prouder of all he has achieved, and we can’t wait to see where his artistic journey takes him next.”
Liz Butt explains more about Andrew’s life and art: “I have been Andrew’s partner for over 30 years and have watched his artistic expression emerge to take a major role in his life and health. When we met he was still a practising architect and indeed used his skills to do major renovations to our house and to convert a small down-at-heel shop in Hampton Court into a gallery space. The Fountain Gallery is still a flourishing base for an association of artists of which Andrew remains a member.
“About 10 years ago he first noticed a slight shake in his hand. Over the next few years this was diagnosed as Parkinson’s disease. In a rather magical way this allowed his more expressive painting to take over gradually from the structured ‘drawn’ architectural element in his work. Watercolour seemed to give him an element of the unexpected and surprise: not always in complete control, as he would have been with architectural drawing. Through the pain and grief of losing function due to illness, this side of his work, something that emerged more from his soul, took over.
“In 2023 after many nasty falls and trips to A & E he took up residence at Peasmarsh Place. After quite a low time during which he struggled with a sense of failure over not being ‘as good’ at painting as he used to be and with the encouragement of the staff at Peasmarsh Place, he took up his brush again, shakily of course, but with a newly-found joy in the freedom from the critical side of being ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.
“The recent exhibition at the care home has been a celebration of his journey from architect to artist, allowing his inner nature to emerge in his delight for colour, light and dark and a sense of depth in his pictures. A big thank you is due to everyone at Peasmarsh Place for supporting him in this vital journey.”
Image Credits: Kt bruce .
Congratulations to Andrew and Emma at Peasmarsh Place.
I knew Andrew many years ago at Tai Chi classes and I was aware of the devastating onset of Parkinson’s, but I never knew that he was a fellow architect, nor of his amazing talent with water colours.
Fantastic Andrew, so glad you are continuing to paint. I still get so much joy from your print of joggers at Camber Sands on my sitting room wall, such glorious colours. Thank you so much. X
It was lovely to meet up with Andrew again at Peasmarsh Place and admire his paintings. Although he can no longer do detailed work his paintings were full of light and atmosphere. So glad he sold well and the Seaview Project has benefitted. He will be sorely missed by the Rye Society of Artists.