LUIS MORRIS ROI

Luis Morris was born on the 24th October 1963, in Wrexham. He enrolled to undertake an Architecture degree course at Nottingham University but subsequently elected to change this initial career choice to join De La Rue as an apprentice banknote designer in 1984. Over the next 13 years, Luis designed currencies for several countries around the world.

Prizes and Accolades

Member of the prestigious Royal Institute of Oil Painters.
Winner of the London heat of Sky Arts Portrait Artist of the Year, 2013.
Awarded the Leclerc Fowle Medal in 2019 for outstanding collection of paintings at ROI Exhibition
Appointed official Wimbledon Championships Artist - June 2019
On board of Federation of British Artists (FBA) 2024
Awarded Dartington Crystal Chalice for outstanding service to the ROI over the years. Dec 2023

‘Painting offers me the chance to celebrate light and the sensual joy derived from seeing. Good paintings are like diary pages – free from the self- editing that goes on when the painter worries what others may think. I like paintings that straddle the boundary between Abstract and Representational.’

On his method of work, ‘I usually work in oil on shop bought canvas or MDF sealed and primed with Gesso. I work relatively small – average canvas size is 16 x 12 inches. I like to do preparatory tonal sketches in charcoal, as these help to work out composition and decide what canvas size to use. I use flat acrylic brushes because of the range of marks you can get with them, from flat patches of colour to sharp lines and dots. As the brush gets older the painting get less crisp, but this isn’t always a bad thing. If I could, I would always work from life.’