Roy Walker made a huge contribution to the arts in Cornwall and especially St Ives where he achieved an impressive reputation as an artist, printmaker and teacher. He helped produce prints for many of Cornwall's leading artists, including Bryan Pearce. Walker was a flamboyant character with a warm, generous nature, spending virtually every day painting, always deeply absorbed in his work.

Refusing to be confined by ordinary artistic restraints, he was constantly searching for different ways to express himself. Early life and work experiences are clearly seen in the shapes that constantly reappear throughout his art. The love of form, colour and light are recurring themes. Eclectic in his use of styles, he was perpetually experimenting with different mediums and styles. His later work began to exceed the confines of his studio as he worked on a larger and larger scale.

Born in 1936 in Welling, Kent, Roy Walker studied art at the Gravesend School of Art and the Regent Street Polytechnic. He also attended evening classes at the Bournemouth College of Art, and later, after National Service in the RAF, at the Central School of Arts & Crafts in London. During the 1960's he worked on the assembly lines at Ford's in Dagenham, which heavily influenced his 'mechanical iconography' of later years.

Arriving in St. Ives, Cornwall with his family in 1965, Walker began an artistic career in earnest. He was allocated one of the prestigious Porthmeor Studios in 1971 and eventually occupied No 3 studio from 1982 until his death in 2001.

His memberships were several: Penwith Society of Arts, Newlyn Society of Artists, Plymouth Society of Artists and the Royal Society of Painters, Etchers & Engravers. He served as Chairman of the Penwith Society of Arts and became Director of the Penwith Print Workshop, where he developed new printing techniques, including the use of steel etching plates. He was a founder member of the Porthmeor Printmakers. He also received a major award from the South West Arts. He was the subject of a BBC Peninsula Documentary Windows of my Mind in 1975. In 1980 he spent time in the USA, visiting Connecticut and New York. This visit coincided with his exhibition at Gallery 66 in Connecticut

Teaching was also a passion, and Walker lectured at the Plymouth College of Art, the Falmouth College of Art, Camborne College, the Royal Cornwall Museum and was Artist in Residence at Withywood School in Bristol. As well as running a St Ives-based workshop for Franklin College of Switzerland; he also took classes at the St. Ives School of Painting as well as the Porthmeor Printmakers.

During his lifetime he had numerous solo and joint exhibitions throughout the UK , America & Europe, he has had work displayed at many premier locations including the Tate St Ives. His work is kept in numerous private and public collections including the V&A, the British Arts Council and Durham University.

Roy Walker died in 2001 aged 65 years.

Written and submitted by Steve Mills, friend of the family