About Bill – Bill Teatheredge Marine Art

The Turning Point

My sliding doors moment came in the mid 1980s when I happened to walk in the National Gallery, London. It was like a slap around the face with the history, beauty, colour and light of the paintings.

Hook, line and sinker, I fell in love with art. At that time I was a young police constable who had just been told, after an incident where I received a bang to the head, that one day I would be profoundly deaf. They were not wrong.

Equally, I was witnessing the most traumatic scenes. In a short period I attended three ‘hold the fort calls’ where an ambulance was on its way, but we had to do what we could in the meantime. Two of these incidents involved young children.

We had never heard of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) back then and there was no counseling. That unplanned trip to the National Gallery accidentally provided me with art therapy. I began visiting galleries, reading about art and painting, it was my release.

Study and Museum Work

Later I became a detective where I was commended for bravery and had an eventful career. As a rugby playing, socialising, front line copper, I never told any of my colleagues of my quiet hobbies.

Having been medically retired because of my hearing loss I decided to retrain. Incredibly, without any formal qualifications but with cross-transferable skills I was allowed to study art history at the University of Essex, I am forever grateful.

Having gained a First class undergraduate degree, I then got a Distinction at Masters which led to my PhD in early Italian Renaissance art.

Subsequently, I have been a Curatorial Associate at the Munnings Art Museum, where I have curated, researched, given talks and tours. I was even used as an expert on the BBC’s Fake or Fortune?

What Matters in the Work

Light and colour is so important to me in a painting, especially if expressed in an impressionistic way.

First hand experience of a scene is so important that is why, living in the Tendring Peninsular, I not only have the countryside to walk in but also the sea and rivers to sail or swim in.

A dip in the cold North Sea on a winter’s morning is something you don’t forget, especially if it is 3.5 degrees, but also watching the sun rise across the ocean.

I believe that art is for everyone- made to be enjoyed, talked about and lived with. If one of my paintings reminds you of a walk, a wave or a favourite view, then I’ve done my job.