Born in Rugby, Charles Inge initially studied at the Ruskin School of Fine Art. Although he obtained a place to study at the Royal College of Art, Charles went into advertising as an art director where, for thirty years, he worked alongside some of the world’s best directors, photographers, artists and designers. At the age of 50, he left advertising and decided to dedicate himself entirely to painting. He attended Turps Art School to re-engage with painting and afterwards set up a studio in Soho. However, Covid saw him move to the Isle of Wight on a full-time basis. His tranquil studio, a converted old stables and coach house, is surrounded by rolling countryside and only 10 minutes away from the sea.

The move transformed his work. Drawing on the elements for inspiration, the rhythm of the seasons and of the tides, Charles has sought through his paintings to turn chaos in to order. His works are created by adding later upon layer of paint to create subject, content and style specific to the incubation of his ideas for the final piece, only to then recover, remove and rework the surface multiple times. Subsequent applications of pigment and medium accompanying his transposition of thoughts onto canvas continues until he feels that he's reached a point of completion, when the realisation of a harmonious balance between concept and execution has reached the point of resolve. The final act is to encapsulated the composition within a Bell Jar. A visual reflection of our unruly and unpredictable world, where only partial control is possible.

Charles has exhibited widely, including at the National Portrait Gallery, with the Royal Society of Marine Artists, the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolour and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. His work has been featured in Vogue Magazine as well as Town & Country Magazine and is represented in the collection of Art UK. In 2021, he won the Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize and this year, as well as back in 2020, he was shortlisted for the Jackson’s Painting Prize.


Education
2020  Turps Art School
1983  BA at Ruskin School of Fine Art, Oxford University

Selected Exhibitions
2023 HYGGE, On the Lam, Online Exhibition
2023 Sunny Art Prize, London
2022 The Cult House Open
2022 Cheltenham Literary Festival, Spring Gallery, Cheltenham
2022 Oxmarket Open, Chichester
2022 London Art Fair
2022 Contemporary British Painting: Paradoxes 52 Painters, Quay Arts, Isle of Wight
2021 ‘Spiritus Mundi’, Solo Exhibition, Ashurst Emerging Artist Gallery, London             
2021 Quay Arts Biennial, Isle of Wight
2021 Turps Group Show, Thames-side Studios, London
2020 Group Show, Los Angeles. 
2019 Isle of Wight Biennial, Quay Arts, Newport
2019 Turps Group Show, The Art Academy, London
2019 Group Show, Hundred Years Gallery, London
2018 ‘Set 24’, Group Show, The Art Academy, London
2018 ‘Small is Beautiful’, Flowers Central, Cork Street, London
2018 Whytham Hall Art Prize Exhibition, London

Awards
2022 The Cult House Open, Shortlist
2021 Overall winner, Ashurst Emerging Artist Prize
2021 Quay Arts Biennial Selected Artist
2020 Shortlisted for the Jackson's Art Painting Prize
2018 Winner of the Whytham Hall Art Prize
2016 Winner of the Windsor and Newton Oil Painting Prize, Royal Society of Marine Artists