Cherryl Fountain

Cherryl Angela Fountain (born 1950) is an English still life, landscape and botanical artist. As the daughter of a gamekeeper and a resident of rural east Kent, much of her work reflects an environment of farming, botanical gardens and country life. Her work has been accepted for exhibition at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition on 28 occasions, and she has received bursaries and numerous awards in honour of her work.

Early life and inspiration Cherryl Angela Fountain was born in 1950 in Lincolnshire, the daughter of gamekeeper Peter Robin Fountain and Ruby Margaret Elmer, who were both originally from Yorkshire. Her mother and her brother Julian have been referenced in her drawings and paintings.

An early patron was Henry George Herbert Milles-Lade (1940–1996), the 5th Earl Sondes of Lees Court, and Stringmans Farm, Badlesmere, Kent, where, from at least 1954, Fountain's father Peter was head gamekeeper for many years, running "one of Britain's best shoots". The hunting background is reflected in the hunting subjects of some works, including Beater's Hut.

Education Fountain read fine art at the University of Reading, graduating in 1972. She trained as a teacher at Brighton Polytechnic, qualifying in 1973. Between January 1975 and June 1977 she was a student at the Royal Academy Schools, where she was taught by Jane Dowling and the portrait painter Peter Greenham, among others. At the Royal Academy she was also a student of Roderic Barrett, and as a former student she took part in an exhibition in his memory at the Chappel Galleries in 2006.

Scholarships Fountain received two scholarships which are reflected in her work. The first, in 1978, was a bursary from the Government of Italy, dedicated to painting and art history in Perugia. The second, in 1983, was a bursary from the Richard Ford Foundation, which was founded by Sir Brinsley Ford "to enable young painters to study masterpieces in the Prado", Madrid.

Career Much of Fountain's work has been informed by the environment of rural east Kent. She is an established, figurative, Her still life artwork includes "taxidermy, fossils, exotic plants and vegetables". At the 2015 Chelsea Flower Show, Fountain produced backdrops for irises bred by Cedric Morris, for the Howard Nurseries' Gold Medal exhibit in the Grand Pavilion.

Teaching Between 1991 and 2000 she taught art and design at The North School in Ashford, Kent. She also taught painting and drawing for adults, on behalf of Kent County Council, for over 20 years. Various art interests and Kent institutions have recognised Fountain's achievement in this respect, including the author Geoff Hassell; and Katherine Tyrell, for the Society of Botanical Artists.

Solo and two-person exhibitions Between 1983 and 2004, Fountain's work was shown in solo and two-person exhibitions bearing her name. New Grafton Gallery, London (1981, 1983, 1986); Drew Gallery, Canterbury (1987); Canterbury Fringe Festival; The Tabernacle, Machynlleth, Wales; and the John Davies Gallery, Stow-on-the-Wold (1994); Mompesson House, Salisbury (1996); Nevill Gallery, Canterbury; and Fleur de Lis Heritage Centre, Faversham, Kent (2004).

Group exhibitions Over several decades, Fountain's work has been shown in group exhibitions, including: Singer Friedlander Exhibition, Royal Society of Portrait Painters; The Piccadilly Gallery, London; Maas Gallery, London.

National Trust exhibitions were: Centenary Exhibition at Christie's, The Long Perspective at Agnews and Storm Struck at Petworth.

Her work was shown at the Museum of Modern Art, Machynlleth, in 2017–2018. In 2019, she exhibited at Plantae, the annual exhibition of the Society of Botanical Artists. In the "Inspired at Mompesson House" exhibition in March 2020, Fountain's painting of May Griffin in the Garden at Mompesson featured as a solo display in one of the rooms. It was painted as a National Trust Centenary celebration in 1995.

Awards 1978, Greenshields Foundation Award for Painting. 2019, Certificate of Exhibiting Excellence for "the most inspiring use of colour", Society of Botanical Artists, for The Beauty and the Beast. "At the head of my list I would place Peter Greenham and his wife, Jane Dowling, for I have long been not only a great admirer of their work but also of that of the artists who have studied under them — Cherryl Fountain, Peter Kuhfeld, Edmund Fairfax-Lucy, Martin Shortis and Martin Yeoman." Sir Brinsley Ford (1991). and the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, whose pieces by Fountain are kept in the following locations: Mompesson House, Wiltshire; Nymans Estate, West Sussex; Mount Stewart, County Down; and Barrington Court, Somerset.