British landscape painter Fred Ingrams is renowned for his captivating depictions of the Fenlands – the flat coastal plains in the East of England. His work highlights the subtle beauty and vastness of the scenery, often emphasising the ever-changing interplay of light, weather, and the natural environment.
Through his Expressionistic acrylic landscapes, Ingrams captures the timelessness of the Fens, masterfully characterising the serene yet dramatic atmosphere. As such, Ingrams is one of the most compelling contemporary landscape artists in the UK today.
Early Life and Discovery of the Fens
Despite his early fascination with nature, Fred Ingrams’ biography sees him attending two of London’s top art colleges.
After studying at Camberwell College of Arts in the early 1980s, the artist was expelled from his MFA at St. Martin's School of Art. This apparent blow turned out to be a positive step. He took up residency in a room above Soho’s iconic Coach & Horses pub, where he spent the next 10 years honing his own style of painting. Here, he discovered and began exploring his East Anglian Fens art, becoming largely self-taught.
Artistic Style and Fenland Inspiration
Fred Ingrams paintings are distinguished by their rich, sweeping brushstrokes and abstracted colour palettes. Preferring to paint en plein air rather than in the studio, Ingrams juxtaposes fine details with stark, empty horizon lines to capture the unforgiving beauty of the Fenland terrain.
Early in his career, Ingrams moved away from the traditional use of oil paints, embracing acrylics to better replicate the interplay between the strict order and bursts of chaos contained within his chosen landscapes.
Fred Ingrams paintings such as Slow River Bend, Westerdale, Caithness 2024 (2024), showcases his expressionistic eye, capturing the mood of the foreboding landscape.
Exhibitions and Notable Works
A stalwart of modern UK art, Ingrams’ acrylic landscape paintings were exhibited in solo exhibitions at prestigious London venues, throughout the 80s and 90s. The artist has graced the walls of iconic venues including The Groucho Club, Albemarle Gallery and Bruton Street Gallery. Here, Fred Ingrams’ paintings have been acquired from a range of local collectors and tastemakers, including Francis Bacon.
Now living between the Fens and the Flow Country – another remarkably flat landscape which is becoming a new preoccupation of his – Fred Ingrams continues to leave a mark on modern British art. Since 2015, he has exhibited with Art Bermondsey gallery and One Paved Court. His work Ditch on Mildenhall Fen (2016), an evocative landscape of vivid colours and dynamic brushstrokes, was also shown at the House of Vans as part of the 2018 Rise Art Prize exhibition.
You can read more about Fred Ingram’s contemporary landscape art in our article profiling Fred Ingrams.
