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About

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Garden Steel Sculptures is run by Paul and Catherine Richardson. Both experienced artists, they have been designing and creating artwork together from their workshop in Middleton, Suffolk for over 25 years. The countryside around them is the inspiration for this collection of garden sculptures.

Well known for his public art commissions around Britain, Paul Richardson's large scale garden sculptures look deep into the building blocks of nature: a seed, a leaf, the latticework of stems and vessels carrying food and water. They celebrate the cycle of birth and rebirth, often highlighting the beauty of decay.

The collection focuses on work that complements the scale and natural forms of the garden. There is a distinctive mix of traditional hand drawn, hand crafted process, with fresh contemporary design.

The sculpture has been seen on stands at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and the RHS Hampton Court Garden Festival where it was winner of the Best Tradestand Award 2021. The collection can be viewed by appointment at their garden in Suffolk.

Many of the steel sculptures are coated with a protective layer of zinc to prevent the steel from rusting. Once outdoors, the zinc is exposed to air and moisture and the outer layer is given up to a delicate, chalky-grey patina. All are wonderfully low maintenance works of art for the garden.

Paul Richardson

experienced sculptor and part of a husband and wife team running Garden Steel Sculptures

Paul has been working as an artist for over 30 years, making pieces for private collectors as well as the public realm. He was nominated a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Commerce and Industry for his contribution to public art. He trained at Birmingham School of Art but it was after gaining his BA(hons) degree, with a studio in the old Birds Custard Factory in Birmingham, that Paul really discovered metal. In the huge disused factory he found steel sheets, bought a little welder and started to play. Now, a significant body of work later Paul's studio is in Suffolk and he draws inspiration from the natural world around him. He has regularly exhibited in London’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show and Hampton Court Garden Festival, alongside regional outdoor venues in Cheltenham, Surrey and Suffolk.

Known for: nature based garden sculpture, Public art commissions around Britain, metal sculpture

Catherine Richardson

Experienced painter and part of a husband and wife team running Garden Steel Sculptures.

Catherine is a painter with a background in art history and museum education. For over 30 years she has honed her visual communication skills through her roles as an artist, in business and in education. She studied Fine Art as a combined degree, painting at Edinburgh College of Art with history of art at Edinburgh University. This is reflected in her painting style which remains freely layered, drawing upon but deliberately not restricted by the mores of traditional painting. It often informs her mark making and palette, yet the art of the past is transmuted to subjects for today, ephemeral moments suspended in presence.

Known for: Figurative painting, people in water, balance of figuration and abstraction, garden sculpture design, Museum and Gallery education

Awards, shows & commissions

Awards

Shows

Commissions

  • Four Sycamore Seeds, Commissioned by Gonville Hotel, 2018, Restaurant Garden, Gonville Hotel, Parkers Piece, Cambridge · photos. Placed on the front garden of the hotel adjacent to the glass dining extension, the soaring vertical gestures of the Sycamore Seeds provided diners with a striking visual anchor. The sculptures cast long, geometric shadows across the grass throughout the day.
  • Sycamore Seed, National Lottery-funded Big Local programme and Winterton Town Council, 2018, Winterton Cemetery, Winterton, Scunthorpe
  • Airman, Cakes & Ale Holiday Park, 2015, Nr Leiston, Suffolk. Holiday Park near the site of the former WWII USAAF Station 373 (RAF Leiston)
  • Lion Pour, Lion Health, 2014, The Lion Medical Centre, Stourbridge, West Midlands. The sculpture pays tribute to "The Stourbridge Lion", the first commercial steam locomotive to run in the USA, built on the Stourbridge site in the 1820's when it was an ironworks. The sculpture shows iron workers pouring molten metal into a casting box to make a Lion's head for the medical centre.
  • Suez recycle sculpture, Commissioned by Suez energy-from-waste facility, 2014, Lodge Lane, Great Blakenham, Suffolk. Using the motif of seeds from a flower falling in order to grow the next generation of the plant, the sculpture echoes Suez’s aim to generate power by recycling waste.
  • 52º North Pegasus, Persimmon Homes, 2013, Latitude Development, Dunwich Close, Ravenswood, Ipswich. Winner of The Ipswich Society Award 2013 Pegasus has flown on a line of latitude around the globe. The towns and cities named on his wings all share the same latitude as Ipswich, 52° North.
  • Pan, Commissioned by Eckington Manor Cookery School, 2012, Eckington Manor,  Worcestershire. Pan is shown bringing a cornucopia overflowing with the wealth of produce from the local fields, orchards and gardens up to the house, to reflect the 'fresh and local' ethos of the cookery school.
  • Trinity Landing Decorative Sign, Trinity House and The Cowes Harbour Commission, 2011, Trinity Landing, Cowes Harbour, Isle of Wight. Decorative sign to mark the landing stage opened by Princess Anne, HRH The Princess Royal, Master of Trinity House
  • “New Beginnings”, Commissioned by Hanover Housing, Braintree District Council & Maldon District Council, 2010, Helen Court, Riverview, Witham, Essex · anchor.org.uk · Facebook. The artwork, based on a giant Faberge egg, is situated in the courtyard area, and references the new beginnings for residents at Helen Court.
  • “Brainstorm”, Suffolk County Council, 2009, Gainsborough Community Library, Ipswich. "Brainstorm" is a contemporary public art sculpture permanently installed at the Gainsborough Library in Ipswich, Suffolk. It features a brain sculpture suspended at the centre of the library to celebrate the building as storehouse of human knowledge; silver tubes reach out from the brain like communication lines joining onto platforms on the wall. The platforms have three-dimensional scientist figures on them carrying out demonstrations of science, art, history, literature and nature: human endeavour across the disciplines.
  • “King of Recycling”, Suffolk County Council, 2008, Household Waste Recycling Centre, Lowestoft, Suffolk. "King of Recycling" is a whimsical public art sculpture that stands permanently at the entrance of the Lowestoft Household Waste Recycling Centre on Haddenham Road, within the South Lowestoft Industrial Estate.
  • “Owl”, Essex and Suffolk Water & Suffolk Wildlife Trust, 2008, Water Garden, Lound, Suffolk. The sculpture is located is positioned within the tranquil Water Garden zone and acts as a visual focal point for visiting trail-walkers, school groups, and birdwatchers, symbolising the active preservation of local habitats.
  • “Angels” Gate, Ipswich Hospital Band, 2007, South Porch Gates, St Peter’s Church, Ipswich. The angels reference the past of this ancient building as a parish church, the instruments are a reference to the current use as a home for the band and the quirky angel wings also hint at musical instruments. Below the angels swim the fish of the nearby river.
  • Foxgrove Band Gates, Barratt East Anglia, 2007, Foxgrove Estate, Foxhall Road, Ipswich. Winner of The Ipswich Society Award 2007 This site was in industrial use for many years. The gates mark the old site entrances to the Celestion loudspeakers factory and the Bull Motors factory. The Foxgrove factory band celebrates the success of the past, blowing life into the new park.
  • “Seagulls”, Suffolk County Council, 2006, Felixstowe Library, Felixstowe,Suffolk. The Seagulls, each with their own characters sit on metal rigging. This piece has been described as one of Suffolk’s best-loved sculptures.
  • ‘Tree’ Way Marker, Saxmundham Sports and Recreational Club, 2006, Carlton Park, Saxmundham, Suffolk
  • “Major Convenience”, Ipswich Borough Council, 2005, Major’s Corner, Ipswich · photos. The steel installation is set on top of a public toilet block building and depicts a caricature of an old-fashioned, moustachioed British Army Major swatting away a swarm of giant flies.The name of the sculpture, "Major Convenience," is a double-entendre. It plays on the historical name of the junction Major's Corner. It was commented on by Alan Carr in his comedy sketch at the nearby Regents Theatre and celebrated in Richard Bacon’s BBC Five Live Drive radio show as a feature of Ipswich.
  • “Quick Step to Recovery”, Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, 2004, South Courtyard, The Ipswich Hospital · eadt.co.uk. The theme of dance mirrors the bustle of activity in the hospital and appealed to people across the generations. For some in the hospital the sculptures spark fond memories of spending Saturday night’s ballroom dancing, for others it is a spectacle to make them smile.
  • “Reservations”, Firstsite and the Wolsey Art Gallery, 2002, Manningtree Train Station, Essex. Now a well known landmark in Middleton , Suffolk, the 'Reservations' commission of a cowboy and native American Indian were originally designed for either side of the station platform the two suited commuters, who pass each other daily on opposite sides of the tracks, have suddenly broken out of their daily routine. A cowboy and a native American indian, are locked in a shoot out reminiscent of the ‘wild west'. Manningtree is on the border between Essex and Suffolk and the piece comments on the issue of borders and the conflicts we witness everyday.
  • Decorative Gates, Epping Forest District Council, 2002, Linder’s Field County Nature Reserve, off Roebuck Lane, Buckhurst Hill, Essex, · walkinginengland.co.uk. The gates show the local flora and fauna. The site rangers use them as a resource for educational groups.
  • ‘Scramble’, Suffolk County Council, 2000, Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum, Flixton, Suffolk · photos. The sculpture shows an airman and his dog as they scramble to the call of duty. It was commissioned to commemorate the local airfields and the British and American pilots of World War II
  • Capel St Andrew village sign, Capel St Andrew Parish Council, 2000, Capel St Andrew, Suffolk. The sign was commissioned by the village for the millennium
  • Decorative Railings, Staffordshire County Council, 1999, Stone Town Centre, Staffordshire · alittlebitofstone.com · twosaintsway.co.uk. The railings tell the story of how the town got its name.
  • Tree Way Marker, Saxmundham Sports and Recreational Club, 1999, Carlton Park, Saxmundham, Suffolk · photos. Marking the town and villages north, south east and west, this tree was commissioned to commemorate one of the founders of Carlton Park sports ground.
  • ‘Divers’ Sculptural sign, Canterbury City Council, 1995, Whitstable Pool, Whitstable, Kent · upload.wikimedia.org · picryl.com. Divers acts as an informal sign for Whitstable Leisure Pool and celebrates Whitstable as the home of deep sea diving where the diving helmet was first invented.
  • ‘Blondin’, Birmingham City Council, 1994, Ladywood Middleway, Birmingham · photos · photos · Facebook. Blondin, the tightrope walker, also famously walked the local Edgbaston reservoir. Here he is atop a 4m plinth to walk Birmingham’s inner ring road.
  • ‘Busker’, Sandwell Town Council, 1994, Windmill Estate, Smethwick, Birmingham. no longer at site, due to rebuilding work, now in private collection