Welcome to the website of Ian Rolls. Ian is a full time artist who is well known in Jersey in the Channel Islands, where he has been based for most of his life. Despite his deep Jersey roots he has spent prolonged periods living and working in India & Sri Lanka, cultures which have deeply affected his life, and more recently two years in Devon in the south west of England.

Ian has travelled widely, an important source of inspiration for him and has shown his work in solo or group exhibitions in India, Sri Lanka, Germany, France, England and regularly in Jersey. Wherever he is in the world, the images he produces are characteristically distorted, playful and uplifting.

Ian draws with his left hand, although naturally right handed. But far from unnatural, this way of drawing produces a spontaneity and freedom of line that feels good and is as much related to the subconscious as the conscious. He has practised meditation for many years and this has directly influenced his way of working. This wayward left-handed drawing technique, where the composition is fixed by intuition, is in contrast with his method of right-handed painting, which is a more controlled process, but never at the expense of the medium's inherent qualities.

Ian's pictures are quiet struggles to create order out of a self imposed chaos... first making things difficult, distorted or overcomplicated with his left handed drawing, then trying to sort things out with his right handed painting. The combination of two very different ways of working within each picture, using both hands and both sides of the brain, makes Ian's work a strange and quirky version of reality.

Ian is an experienced watercolourist, although he occasionally makes extremely thick, sumptuous oils, literally sculptures in paint. He paints on or makes pictures from, anything that comes to hand... found beach plastic, driftwood, recycled or burnt timber, used-out surf boards and recently, discarded electricals (see image below). Ian's uniquely wayward and quirky creations are in collections worldwide.

This website presents a small but varied selection of work for sale, news of and images from forthcoming exhibitions and events, biographical info, short films about selected exhibitions, details and images of a wide range of limited edition prints which can be bought online, a selection of commissioned work and contact details. Hope you enjoy what you see!