Ophelia Redpath

Ophelia may begin with a plan, but she says “when the players arrive on the canvas, they evolve on their own.”

Setting out as a painter in 1986, Ophelia began working in collage on abstract compositions, later moving to oil pastel and gouache figurative pieces, and, finally settling within what she refers to as a kind of ‘magic realism’ in oil on canvas.

Seeking to discover and share the random joy, pain, confusion and organic magic Ophelia feels is offered up by the world, she speaks through colour and the enigma of light. Recently, she has sought to make sense of elements within our current culture which cage and damage that magic, therefore highlighting its value.

Ophelia is the author of a picture book, ‘The Lemur’s Tale’, which was nominated for the 2014 Kate Greenaway Prize for children’ literature, and a coffee table book, An ABC of Cambridge Professors. 

Ophelia has exhibited widely in the UK and abroad.