Art, Nature & Soul #85

A lot of times, the best, most important & relevant art speaks to the times in which we & it was created, in some way, shape or form. Over the past decade or so I've noticed both the emergence of newer artists, plus a resurgence of some old being reintroduced into the current mainstream culture addressing theses things, politics, climate change, COVID/vaccines, gender identity, sexuality & more.

We're involved in the art scene so we attend a fair amount of related events & happenings. One that stands out is the Lumineers concert several years ago when they and the 2 other opening bands performed Leonards Cohen's DEMOCRACY together on stage. As our country has been significantly under siege since  2015, it was relevant, poignant & a moving call to action, as in vote, plus some. Since then I've been more observant & aware. We saw Muse, Will of the People Tour, Arcade Fire, WE concert, TearsFor Fears, TURNING POINT & The Decemberists ARISE FROM THE BUNKERS, all which were speaking to the issues at hand directly. Others were just going about their business incorporating the messages more subtely into their setlist, Sam Smith Gloria, Pet Shop Boys HOTSPOT, Iggy Pop EVERY LOSER & New Order’s 13 tract variations of BE A REBEL, concerts & cd's to name a few. Within theater, White Plague & 1776, seemed to be trying to reach out and send a new message to the audiences The Joffrey ballet's FRANKENSTEIN, and opera, THE LIFE AND DEATH OF ALAN TURNING and most recently Sufjan Stevans ILLINOISE seem to be changing things up to be inclusive and show some deeper thoughts on being human. Exhibits at the Art Institute Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art as well as some special exhibit venues that also were geared to show the possibilities of human life on planet earth. One such was Warhol at College of DuPage, Illinois, another THE FIRST HOMOSEXUALS at Wrightwood 659, that has a follow up in 2025. And many others, but these were some memorable highlights.

Toward the very end of 2023 we saw Patti Smith at the Salt Shed, Chicago. Ever the consummate rebel & activist, her encore was PEOPLE HAVE the POWER and the crowd was feeling it. I had taken several photos of the outside & inside of the venue, with her and the people in attendance. For this piece I wanted to show the outside of the venue and the hoodied crowd waiting to get in. There was a couple standing directly in front of us, inside, that reminded me of Don and myslf when we were in our 20’s, fearless, but practical. Similiar biulds, I had long wavy blonde hair & Don had shorter brown, then,as well. The 2 guys in their mid 20’s, holding hands, with their arms around each other who would occasionally kiss, so I put them front & center in the composition then added Patti Smith performing, People Have the Power. The hooded people representing those hidden, who feel they need to hide, inpart ( because of their color, religion, sexuality, gender identity, etc.) waiting to get into a safe space to just be who they are, without fear of reprisals and the 2 guys representing the fearlessness of some while Patti encourages our right to be free, to be who we are and whatever we want, echoeing that we have the power to make it so. The bilding itself I added some symbolic graffitti too. Yes, this was the message I want to bring out and I've conveyed it in one my more contemporary compositions in mixed media. 

Earlier this year, 2024, I spoke to another peer artist about putting an exhibit together addressing the current political climate and issures at hand. I messaged him stating we could have a call for entries and have the artists interpret the theme "Democracy" and then elaborated on some details of the when & where. Guess we’ll see if enough people have the courage to motivate and show their power before it’s to late. Make your voice heard, make your vote known, be the change you want to see in the world, its that simply.

As always your comments & questions are welcome,

Richard

PEOPLE Have the Power 24”x36” mixed media

Art, Nature & Soul #84

I recently posted this on one of my social media pages.

“I was asked to describe my artwork in 3 words for an upcoming art magazine feature in March. I did, but I wondered how you would?”

My answer to ‘Circle Foundation For the Arts’ was simply, “chronology of happenings”, as I paint my life, as it unfolds, in whatever form it takes.

I knew that the question, as posed, that some would interupt it as me asking them to find 3 words they would use to describe my artwork with, while others still, perhap’s artists, would answer it as if to describe their own artwork. The post received a really great response, one very thoughtful & intuitive response about my work, was from MaryEllen B. “this is a hard one … i keep going to art phrases … like impressionist but more. I got thinking deconstructive impressionist abstract. there!” Another was somewhat more ambiguous, as to whether he was speaking to my art or his, although the intention seemed clear, the double edged sword, when he wrote, “Better than yours!” Marvin M., to which all I could do was lol and click on the laughing emoji. He was a portrait artist, by profession, pretty standard quality photo realism from what I observed.

In any case I had several thoughts.

First and foremost, I do not compete with others, only myself, for my individual vision & personal best. Secondly, having and being a positive supportive voice to others, including creatives, in this world, is a rare and important thing, I choose to be.

Then I had this thought. That’s like saying English is better than French, Spanish, German or Italian, etc. Or even more so, that petroglyphs are better than hieroglyphs, or more aptly that English is better than petroglyphs, which makes no sense. As we are all speaking in different visual languages, as artists, to begin with. Communication is usually directed to a certain audience, with hopes of reaching others outside ones group.

Personaly I seldom think in terms of good & bad, better or worse, except when I’m gaging the direction of my own prolific output. I do have my likes, but having spent, near 40 years, selling other artists work to a large audience with varied taste and range of clients, I understand this one very important thing. There’s an audience for most all art and the degree of success with any of it, for any artist, like life, has more variables than can be counted on both hands.

Importantly, being open to and having an appreciation for things in their context, super cool, by my standards. Asking questions and taking the time to learn, know & understand anothers capabilities & chosen direction is a unique, rare and beautiful thing, that can open up ones world plus provide an appreciation.

As I’ve indicated and spoken to many times, as a child and young man, my primary interests were in cartoon & portrait work, which I did. From doodling cartoons in ink pen of myself, friends & teachers to doing more realistic portratis in pencil, pen & ink and soft-pastel, some of which were commissioned and sold. As I grew as a person and artist I began to want and lean to the more impressionistic, expressionistic & abstract. While I still do portrait commissions, they have a definate slant to these above disciplines, as well as my own vision of the person or persons personality.

Here’s a self portrait I painted about 35 years ago. I was and am a huge Universal monster & Hammer film fan. So, I took a photo of myself and morphed it with Frankenstien, Dracula & the Wolfman. While it’s not perfect. It’s not bad for a primarily self taught artist. What a great time I had painting this one. It’s in oil, on fine portrait linen & in an old ornate Gothic frame. It still hangs in my home studio, really, sincerely, yes indeed, it does. Here’s another from this time period I painted of a friend, around the same time, as well.

Which should illustrate that how I currently choose to express myself is based on an acumulation of infromation, knowledge & experience gathered, honed & refined.

As always your comments & questions are welcome,

Thanks Richard

Self Portrait, 11”x14” oil on line, in a ornate Gothic frame circa 1989ish

‘Boy Blue Jeans’ 40”x30” oil (1988-89)

Art, Nature & Soul #83

I’ve been asked to and been doing commissioned artwork since high school. They are always an interesting challenge. Fusing a clients idea, with what you do and a shared vision.

In early December 2023 I received this message.

Here is the picture we have.  Obviously not ideal, but gives you, the artist, a perspective of what we are trying to accomplish. He was very interested in the harvest, crops, and the harvest moon, so any combination of those ideas may work. Thanks again for your help here.

Regards,

Adam G.

The man in the photo had recently passed and he, a friend of the family, was wanting to memorialize his love, life and loss, for his good friend and the surving wife in a small painting. He had a budget and I felt I could accomodate his goal.

The photo gave verty little to work with, accept for an approximation of the couple on their front porch. That in combination with the brief message of what his life loves were and it being near the holidays gave me an idea. So I went to work to recreate a joyous shared moment between the two, probably one of many, many, similar ones.

We’re in Illinois, so a red barn and corn silo were decided on, along with a a John Deer tractor, the harvest moon and sitting the two a little closer together. We can imagine they’re perhap’s, holding hands. I was wanting to keep it a bit lighter to capture a joyous moment,as the reason for creating the image was already a somber one. So a light & happy rendition of the 2 in vivid colors, all a texture and caricature was created. I entitled it ‘Lasso the Moon’, being the holidays, after a scene in the James Stewart/ Donna Reed film, directed by Frank Capra, “It’s a Wonderful Life” I felt with the age of the couple she would be able to relate to the sentiment.

The person who commissioned the work has picked it up, but not given it it yet to his friend. So stay tuned, he was excited about it and intends to send me some a reaction info that I’ll post on my various social media outlewts, as well as here.

Thanks for support

as always your thoughts & comments are welcome,

Richard

Art, Nature & Soul #82

The creating of art, has been a wonderful & wild journey that I’ve been on, a lifetime. It’s been a total immersion, from Mrs. Clark, my grade school art & music teacher, to the picture-lady, bringing examples of the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection, to the evolution of where I now find myself.

Mrs. Clark was always so organic & natural, unforced in her viewpoint & expression. I was in awe and bliss with most everything the picture lady showed us, such unbridled creativity, showing a wide variety of what art was. In middle school I was fascinated by DaVinci, Michelangelo & Rembrandt. Those renaissance artists blew my mind, with their more realistic renditions, using the sfumato technique, etc. By the time I was leaving middle school and entering high school I was hooked on Dali. Throughout H.S. and early college, my artwork, with the exception of some cartoon characters I drew & portrait commissions I did in pastel, leaned heavily into the surreal and fantastical into my early 20’s. About that time I discovered my love of Van Gogh & Pollack. This more emotive expression took firm hold and it’s where I’ve been ever since, learning, building & refining along the way.

Like I’ve said many times before, “I paint my life”. Which for me, means whatever’s going on, I feel compelled to express it, in paint, the way I’m experiencing it. Always wanting it to be organic , natural, & fluid, as I’m not a fan of overthought, forced or static artworks. Once the idea is visualized in my head, I go to work very quickly, as much of the time & work happens in my head before I even put paint to canvas. Sometimes people ask how long did that take you to paint. If I where to be asked today my answer would be 59 years, 7 months, and 3 day, my age. Creating art is an accumulation of experience and one’s personnel refined technique & vision. In fairness to the question though, the more representational are created in a matter of hours, going back to tweak areas briefly the next day or so & the more abstract & contemporary pieces I do, usually take weeks & weeks, some a couple months to build, as they are mixed media configurations. Still each layer is done quickly, after I look and an assessment has been made and I’ve decided on where I’m going next. My creative process relies heavily on me allowing these expressions to flow spontaneously, once engaged.

Which brings us here, near today, but let me back up just a bit. The Modern Wing at the Art Institute Chicago Opened May 16, 2009. A large space on the 1st floor was dedicated to a major exhibition of Cy Twombly’s artwork. I was unfamiliar with his work to that time, but upon first seeing it, I air hugged it, as a kindred spirit was discovered. At the time was doing more drip & splatter work in acrylic, trying to hone a vision. It was bliss, utter joy to see the freedom he allowed himself in his expressions and with this realization it so set me, to allow myself greater freedom and a vision, a fusion of ideas I’ve been working toward ever since.

While I love doing the variety of artworks I do. I wouldn’t do them if I didn’t. While there’s other’s as well, these particular mixed-media pieces I’ve assembled here on this page/blog are some of those artworks closest to that vision. They are the accumulation of near 60 years of growth as a person and painter. They represent my most intimate & personnel autobiographical expressions. Each are built and created with an acrylic paint base, then layering, adding & erasing, with oil paint, oil pastel, ebony pencil, charcoal, oil stick & 18k gold paint & leaf. The 18k leaf & an infinity symbol can be found on all of these artworks, a signature… trademark of sorts.

Love's, Lines, Circles, Angles & Rhymes 40”x40” mixed media on canvas (the artwork in the lower left of the collage) was awarded, ‘Artistic Excellence’ earlier this year from the Circle Foundation for the Arts, in March 2023 & then in May 2023, featured as “relevant” in the Artist Closeup,-an international contemporary art magazine out of Amsterdam. I participated in several exhibitions in which I was juried into, and was lucky enough to be asked to do 4 commissions. Besides these wonderful things, I’m most grateful for my liker’s, patrons & collector’s feedback & support. My life choices & route have been of a more atypical & unexpected happening, and yet I feel like I’m making my kind of music, my kind of art as it, my life, has unfolded, in time, on schedule and couldn’t have any other way.

Your enthusiasm is appreciated, as always your thoughts & questions are welcome, Thank you Richard

Love's, Lines, Circles, Angles & Rhymes

Art, Nature & Soul #81

Today, this Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 2023 marks the 46th year of my brother Rodney’s departure from this life. He would have been 50 years old this past November 1, all saints day. I was age 13 at this time, just barely a teenager in 8th grade and his loss was profound and devasting. But, don’t run-a-way quite yet, for this is more than a story of grief, its also a story of triumph and the influences, the fleeting moments of our lives that define us, compel us, direct us toward the pathways of our lives.

The past several years, there’s been an inordinate amount of emotional turmoil and triggers, causing me to say out loud on more then a few occasions, “This is what my childhood was like and it never stopped.” In recent years , in counselling I discovered that I have and suffer from PTSD for most of my life…Well talk about triggers, yes indeed. But, again, I’ll save those details and story for another time. Perhaps, if not likely in an autobiography posthumously. But, today, this story is about a lifetime of me discovering the healing powers of the arts, whether it be music, poetry, writing, dance, theater, sculpting, painting or other artistic outlets out there. Create, it’s a choice.

As I’ve already said, Rodney’s passing hit me hard as I was just a child myself. Over the past months I’ve had reason & occasion to be reconnected with family memorabilia from my past, most of which I hadn’t seen and some hadn’t remembered in over 35 years. There were stacks and stacks of photo albums, a drawing I had done in 78’ and given my mother in 79’, a grandparents, Sperry family Bible that had recorded the births & deaths of family members. Plus other assorted odds and ends…dads coin collections, mom’s rose pattern fine China that served family & friends, at grand parties & events, for decades upon decades. Yes, indeed, it was overwhelming as the memories came flooding back.

As if the family Bible wasn’t enough, marking Rodney’s, birth & death dates. The photos, yes, there he was like memories, validated. Memories & photographs come to life. Sometimes I find myself talking about my brother in memory flashes. One such is where I’m holding him, helping him pet our childhood pup Hardy. It always made Rodney smile & giggle, and there it was a photo, not 1 but 2 taken a year and a half apart showing this strong joyous memory, verified. Then another I hadn’t remembered at all, me at 11 or 12 years old , holding my brother about 3, on my shoulders. Well yes, it brought more then a few tears to my eyes as I acknowledged, yes this is exactly how I felt, now as then, about Rodney, ‘he ain’t heavy, he’s my brother’…The photos went on and on and I saw Rodney being held and loved by family members & friends, when I see and think, ‘Everybody loved Rodney’. Then my sisters says, ”Don’t cry,” as she pulls a drawing I drew of him, when I was 13-14 years old, and about a year after his passing then gave to my mother, one Valentines Day thereafter. The drawing was all eyes to brain to hand…no grids or mechanical methods were used to reproduce his likeness from the photograph, just a sketch pad piece of paper & a HB pencil, plus my early artistic license & emotion are added, to capture & convey his essence & my love for my brother

So, it’s with this discovery that my story ends and begins. In my grief, I tried to funnel my feelings into a creative expression. Of course, at the time I had no idea that was what I was doing, but in hindsight, I see and realize I had been trying to do that prior to this occasion and all along. (*when my sister, Baby Diane had passed on, at 4 months of age, me about 5 and remember clearly, then soon after in a grade school classroom art project, we were to make an Easter basket out of colored construction paper and put your family names on the eggs. I of course added Diane posthumously.) I’ve come to understand and the realization that we never get over the grief of losing a loved one. We merely learn to live with it and hopefully put it in a treasured place where the love is protected and if we’re able, to turn it into an expression of that love to be given freely to other’s. I’ve repeatedly stated to most when asked and speaking about my artwork, that its emotive based & therapeutic for me. As an adult and recently, when, what felt and enormous stress, planned and started the day by doing an abstract artwork, to workout some of my emotions out on canvas, knowing fully it would help, it did for that day, maybe several others afterward. Like I’ve stated & written, my artwork is an autobiographical, a chronology of happenings. Apparently I need lots of therapy, ha.

I remember Rodney R. Sperry, born 11-1-73 - passed 11-23-77:

My brother had Cerebral Palsy and some other physical challenges. Having lots of friends & a large extended family, growing up it seemed that he brought out the best in people and that we were always surrounded by family, friends with an unwavering love. His smile lit up the world, mine for sure, still does.

Today I'm grateful he was part of my life and for all the lessons he taught me in his short time here on earth. I’m also, thankful for all the people and lives that have been in mine, hope they all know how very much they mean to me & that they are loved, more so, that they are part of my thoughts, heart, & artistic expressions, always.

And lets face it, like Harvey Fierstien, as Arnold said in Torch Song Trilogy,” It's easier to love someone who's dead. They make so few mistakes.”

(*With these things in mind, I also immerse myself in many of the other arts and feel strongly that it needs to be advocated for and implemented in our schools if for no other reason but to help people balance their lives out with a constructive creative emotional outlet, in the context of life’s harsh realities.)

Thankful for you & grateful for the shared fleeting moments that we move through each others lives.

As always your thoughts & questions are welcome,

Richard

Rodney Sperry, my brother

HEROES, just for one day. Brothers

Art, Nature & Soul #80

On Gratitude & Dreams~ From the young age of 6 I knew that I wanted, needed to create art. I was the more quiet , more reserved kid in the room, always observing the situ. As I’ve mentioned time and time again, lol, my childhood & family life was of a more turbulent & tragic happening, in a great many ways, more then most. Creating became an escape, a therapy of sorts. Focusing on being a child, growing up and creating a path toward being an artist was not without its challenges, detours, pratfalls & road stops. But the arts are what have always been my path, my interests, my soul, & unquenchable thirst for expressing my being. So its in a most scenic, if not circuitous route I’ve found myself here, with you all, doing it my way. As a road trip kinds of guy, I’d lend this metaphor with a hardy bit of sentiment & love. It’s about the journey, not only the destination, and what sights I’ve seen. Thank you all for sharing some of it with me and allowing me, my artworks into your homes.

It’s a truly wonderful thing to see the artworks I have created in their new homes. I always feel like we have a deeper connection with these persons, as if to say, “I get you”, yes we understand each other. I am more grateful for these people then mere words can actually convey, for it is because of you and your continued support that I am able to strive to live on this childhood dream & be my best self.

From commissioned artworks, to completed abstracts, landscapes & figurative works, they find homes in spaces from big corporate offices of Chicago & business’s, to focal mantel, over the sofa pieces and other showcase places from intimate hall spaces, children’s bedrooms, window rooms, dining rooms & the music room, mancaves, in art lovers & collectors homes, all across America.

My creative spirit & energies turned art, nature & soul having found a small place in the life of others, speaking to them at some level, a connection, a relationship, a continuity. This is my inspiration, a shared vision that feeds my imagination.

And so I leave you with these two thoughts from 2 of my favorite American thinkers, writers. The first one, the 1st two sentences, are inscribed in a cuff I wear on my wrist.

“Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you've imagined. As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler.”

―Henry David Thoreau

People only see what they are prepared to see. If you look for what is good and what you can be grateful for you will find it everywhere.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Here’s a small selection of some of my creations in their new homes. As always your question, comments & thoughts are welcome.

Feeling grateful for you. Thank you, for your continued support & helping me to follow my dream. Richard

Art, Nature & Soul #76

PRIDE~ Creating figurative art, is one of my favorite subjects to explore. When I was in my teens & 20s, besides the occasional commissioned portrait work, they tended toward the more surreal as I figured out who & what it wanted to be as I grew up. Today I still play in that arena fusing figures with symbol & mythology from yester year, as well as the now & ones I’ve created. As I’ve recently written,

"I paint my life, as I experience it. I’m not merely an abstract painter or a land, sea or cityscape one or even a figurative one for that matter. The internal as well as the external mechanisms engage and compel me to paint my life, how I think, feel it, how I experience it and how I live it…my paintings are a diary, a catalogue and a chronology of happenings." ~Richard

Which is to say, my art is my therapy of sorts where I express my deepest & most intimate details of my life.

Early on it was apparent in hindsight that I was figuring out my sexuality, then screaming here “I AM”. While I’ve toned down the more, in your face, aspects of these type artworks. I still promote a untied world view where everyone’s equal, accepted & loved.

My husband Don & I have spent most of our lives, 37 years together, blending in with the community population in the burbs. We made this choice decades ago for a variety of reasons. Importantly, in living in the regular population rather than a more city LGBTQ colony. I thought it was an opportunity to show & share who we are as human beings to persons less familiar with same sex relationships. Our outness has varied over nearly 4 decades but we have never denied who we are. Growing up, my family & I lived next door to a lesbian couple, that became family friends over the many years. It seemed to me the best way to get people to get over there fear of things they didn’t understand was to show them that we, in many, if not most ways, live a similar life as you. Although some of our individual struggles may be different, LOVE IS LOVE. Currently, we’re wanting to do more for & be a support of the LGBTQ community as the climate of hate has been escalated here in the USA.

Each of these, plus innumerable others artworks are meant to show, whether , more realistic, abstract, contemporary, modern or impressionistic, my love of people & the various human conditions & the ambiguous nature of being.

As always your questions & comments are encouraged & welcome, Richard

Art, Nature & Soul #75

Over a month ago I was contacted to do a commissioned abstract. The client knew my work and gave the basic colors that he wanted to see. I set off doing what I do it the size he wanted 40”x60” vertical. I get asked to do commission work several times a year, sometimes landscape, other times figurative & every once and a while an abstract. Each are within my subject matters that I regularly paint, plus within my more contemporary & modern takes on them.

I remember my first commission, in high school. It was a portrait in pastel. When I completed it, the girl wasn’t 100% thrilled with it. She asked if I could remove the space between her two front teeth. I remember thinking, ‘I’m not an orthodontist.’ Years latter I would be called on to paint another portrait, this time in oil. The person had departed this life, so it was important. This time, it was the space between his teeth that was an important identifying feature of the persons appearance. Besides the fact that my portrait work is more stylized, meaning not being a photographic rendition. How we see ourselves isn’t always how others see us, which can make portrait work more difficult, landscapes are infinitely easier, grass is greener.

I’ve painted images from peoples vacations where they didn’t get that perfect photo so I’ll merge the photos they’ve taken into the perfect painted memory image. Sometimes they’re paintings of their favorite place, a garden, a vacation spot, or a lake home. Recently I was asked to paint someone’s vacation home in northern Wisconsin on a 5” wedge of pine that was being turned into a table and given to one of his children as a wedding anniversary gift. How fun and really pleasure to do for a variety of reasons, some of a more sentimental leaning. The abstracts are a lot of fun because if you already like what I do and my approach, it’s play time for me. I like taking photographs and breaking them down into a more contemporary abstract realistic form. I hope to get commissions doing that with someone else’s photo sometime, it’s also a lot of fun the results are so unique. One of these type artworks recently received an ‘Artistic Excellence’ award from Spotlight Magazine in April 2023 & just a month later this May, this piece was featured in ARTISTCLOSEUP an international magazine that features artist from all around the world, each so nice.

With this piece, I asked for the size, the colors & the space it would be hung in. The client gave me the info & sent photos. I went to work doing what I do layering in, the brushed, palette knifed & sgraffito-ed, mixed media extravaganza, including the hidden infinity sign & 18k gold which have become my signature, of sorts, in these type artworks.

Nearing completion, I sent an image of the piece to the client, he responded, “Interesting. I’m a little scared of the orange, but I like it.” I reassured him I could tone it down if he wanted but felt he should see it in person first & we could pick out a frame. Having now seen it in person & feeling the orange was to bold for his taste. It was decided that I’d do some adjustments & enhancement in those areas, thus making then a bit more rusty. He was hesitant to have me make the embellishments and very respectful of me and the art. I felt it was a commission and wanted it a more parallel vision tailored to his taste and went back to work. Completed, I sent an image for his review. His response was an enthusiastic, “I like it!” After its framed and hanging in his home, I’ll add that photo as well so visit again, soon.

Your questions & commissions are welcome, Richard

Ascension 40”x60” mixed media

placement in home

placement

Art, Nature & Soul #74

I have always loved art. As a child I remember the grade school ‘picture lady’ bringing in large prints of the more iconic artworks from the Art Institute of Chicago collection. An ever changing assortment of classic Van Gogh’s, Dali’s, Picasso’s, Renoir’s & the Caillebotte, Rainy Day in Paris, I love so well and more.

By the time I was in High School I wanted to do art and fill my surroundings with visual art. We’d hang out at the mall on the weekends that had galleries and print shops. One of the galleries was showcasing surrealistic fantasy artworks of artist Robert Owen. He specialized in paintings of clowns, mostly in cloudscapes. I became taken by his work and a piece entitled ‘Pot at the end of the rainbow’. My sister and a couple of friends ended up purchasing it for me for my 16th birthday. It was the first piece I’d ever chosen for myself. I still have it, as well as other prints of R. Owen’s work and the 1st one I purchased, entitled, Top of the World. All the world loves a clown and I sure did, Emmet Kelley, a classic, Red Skelton Hour on TV, plus Flip Wilson, Carol Burnett, & Dick Van Dyke had me in stitches, as well as some of the oldies like Stan Laurel&Oliver Hardy, Charlie Chaplan & Buster Keaton those old Black & White reels had me. Later I picked up a print of Van Gogh’s Starry Night print as well as a couple M.C. Escher ones.

In my late teens I went to one of those starving artist pop ups held out of a hotel chain and purchased my first original for 39.99, it was a seascape. While not in great shape anymore, I still have it, still love it. Just After Dali passed, Merrill Chase Galleries had ab exhibit I attended. They had a drawing or etching of his, a piece that had a peacock eyes in the tail feathers, I had intended to purchase. But the staff scanned me, profiled me and assumed I wasn’t able or serious…that was a mistake and I didn’t purchase because of the rude assessment. It turned out it was just as well, as they went out of business due to fraud, misrepresentation and forgery of the artists signature on artworks. That lesson came in handy as how to not treat people in an art gallery when I later started working at them. One of the first galleries I applied at, asked what was the most expensive thing you had ever purchased, I was taken aback and didn’t answer, cutting the interview short. I had just purchased a new car and my 1st home, again thought WTF, even before that was a thing, but I digress, as the subject at hand is the artworks I have collected & purchased over the years & why.

The signed & numbered limited edition market was huge for awhile and I added Mediterranean Sunset by Henri Plisson to my collection and another piece by a Russian artist, entitled Serenade. I was working at an art gallery when artist David Hettinger did a portrait demo of me, giving it to me. I’ve added a half dozen of his original artworks to my collection over the years. I added others by Katie Roberts, John Pail Marcelo, Anthony Soskich, & picked up a wonderful boat piece in & of Bar Harbor by Ron Johnson in a little gallery called the Argosy. I added a wonderful still life by Russian artist Natalia Andreeva, at one point, an abstract in ink, on canvas by Jerry Hardesty, photography by Brian DeWolf, a figurative watercolor by Kenney Mencher, that spoke to me, a couple etchings, one by Gustave Dore, the Ancient Mariner, a playful dog themed canvas print by Govinder, an original mother/child piece by artist Diana Mendoza from Peru., a couple small acrylic seascapes by Jerry Smith, a Sandhill Crane photo on tin by Chris Gavitt, a fantastic mixed media piece of a crow by John Sokol, & a linoleum block print of Kurt Vonnegut by Brian Busch. I’ve picked up pieces from galleries, directly from the artists as well as at art fairs, craft fairs, a few sculptures too, a carved peacock, a bronze of a wolf, a figurative piece in soapstone, Pan in ceramic, the Koshare or Sacred Clown sculpter Snowbird by and a very large student work of a face in oil on canvas, a self portrait of Francis and at one point I had my home on the market just before the housing market crash, I took it off, just in time in favor of adding an oil of the south of France by Leonard Wren Chateau Chapaisse. I’ve already, in a previous blog, spoke of my hunt for Entertainment by Vachagon Narzyan. A small contemporary seascape, purple haze, by MaryEllen Broderick sits in my mediation shelves to.

Also, some collector plates from Russia were added just after the iron curtain was torn down from a folk art community there. I have an assortment of posters prints from events, movies…Charlie Chaplan’s, A Dog’s Life, plus museum, concert & theater openings as well as collection & vintage clips from magazines and books on my walls too. As a person within the arts and person creating & selling his own work, I like to support other artists as well, besides it seems I just can’t get enough of the arts and the visually exciting personal expressions of others. High brow, low brow, it’s all art to me and I love it.

So, then this happened. Having reminisced and written about my first art acquisitions, I decided to look up and find out what Robert Owen was doing. Robert Owen was an American artist born on September 2, 1930, in Polk County, Missouri. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute and the University of Kansas. In the early years of his career, he focused on landscapes and still lifes, but later, he turned to painting clowns, which became his signature subject. Owen's clown paintings are known for their bright colors and whimsical, surrealistic style. His clowns often have exaggerated features and expressions, which convey a range of emotions from joy to sadness. He was fascinated by the theatrical aspect of clowns and the emotions they could evoke in an audience. He moved to Washington in 1999 and rebooted his painting career with a new series of clown paintings.

Owen's paintings have been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. His works have also been featured in solo exhibitions at galleries in Kansas City, St. Louis, and other cities. Owen's clown paintings have been collected by many private collectors and public institutions. World renowned clown artist Robert Owen emerges back on the scene with a whole new collection of his clowns. His portrayal of life as seen through his canvas touch on all aspects of life, from politicians, athletes, doctors,lawyers, businessmen and of course clowns themselves. Robert Owen was born in 1930. He was ninth of ten children. He has been painting for over 35 years professionally. For over 30 of those years he has been delighting people with his clowns.

Robert Owen's paintings can be found among many of the international "jet set" community's distinguished art collections, and in private homes all over the nation. A partial list of his collectors include, Mr. and Mrs. Don Adams, Mr. and Mrs. Frankie Avalon, Mr. and Mrs. Sid Caeser, Mr. and Mrs. Dick Clark, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph J. Cunha, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Falk, Dr and Mrs. C.R. Lincoln, James Merick, Mettler Electronics Corp, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Van Dyke, Miss Dionne Warwick and James West. One man shows and exhibits have been held in many galleries some include: Norman Wilks Gallery, Oklahoma City, Ok, ~ Pagliacci Gallery, Newport Beach, CA, ~ Ira Roberts Gallery, Beverly hills, CA, ~ Maidenlane Gallery, San Francisco, CA,~ Charles Pace Gallery, Houston, TX,~Galerie De Tours, Carmel, CA,~ Albert Charles Gallery, Gatlinburg, TN,~ Craft Gallery, La Mirada, CA,~ Joy Rubins Art Emporium, Hollywood, FL,~ Grafton Street Gallery, Costa Mesa CA,~ Seger Fine Art Gallery, Boca Raton, FL,~ MGM Grand Gallery, Las Vegas, NV, ~ O'Kelly's Gallery, Long Grove, IL,~ Houshang Gallery, Dallas TX, ~ Gallerie Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, ~ Galerie de Las Artists, Las Cruces, NM,~ and the Museum of Sciences & Industry, Los Angeles, CA. You can shop our selection of other sculptures online.

His work has been sold at various auction houses, including Sotheby's and Christie's. Some of his most famous paintings include "Clown with Banana," "Clown with Balloons," and "Clown with Umbrella." Throughout his career, Owen received numerous awards and honors for his work, including the Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts and the Missouri Arts Award. He passed away on January 17, 2022, at the age of 91. In summary, Robert Owen was an American artist known for his vibrant and surrealistic paintings of clowns. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States and has been collected by many private collectors and public institutions. User What are Robert Owen (b. 1930) paintings typically worth? ChatGPT The value of Robert Owen's paintings can vary depending on various factors, such as the size, medium, subject matter, condition, and provenance of the artwork. Additionally, the demand for his work and the availability of similar pieces in the market can also affect the price. According to artnet, a database of art auction results and prices, Robert Owen's paintings have sold at auction for prices ranging from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. For example, in 2018, his oil on canvas painting titled "Clown with Umbrella" sold for $22,500 at a Freeman's auction in Philadelphia. In 2019, his acrylic on canvas painting titled "Two Clowns" sold for $5,625 at a Sotheby's auction in New York. It's worth noting that the above prices are just examples and that the value of a particular Robert Owen painting can differ significantly depending on various factors. If you're interested in buying or selling a Robert Owen painting, it's best to consult an art appraiser or dealer who can provide a more accurate and updated assessment of its worth.

I then found an original artwork by him and added it to my collection, as a 59th birthday gift to myself, that’s upcoming this May. It’s more suited to my more current interests, the ocean and it’s entitled, ‘Surf’s Up’. I love art!

Your questions are always welcome, Richard

Pot at the end of the Rainbow by Robert Owen

Top of the World by Robert Owen

Surf’s Up 24”x36” oil original

Art, Nature & Soul #71

Hours before & during my waking moments of the morning, I’m most often painting in my head, planning an approach to something I’m working on or will soon be working on, as well as thinking about the next several pieces I intend on doing, visualizing there completion. Among them, I see interiors, buildings, people, animals, vast land & seascapes, plus abstractions nano & blown up, but reduced to design elements connected. Recently I noticed, after posting a newly completed abstract and a seascape I had done the previous year…that the language & messages were very similar, regardless of their abstract or representational leanings. It’s been a revelation to find that what my intentions are & have been reflected in my artwork, as well… as I narrow in on my abstract realistic aesthetic fusion goals.

I paint my life, as I experience it. I’m not merely an abstract painter or a land, sea or cityscape one or even a figurative one for that matter. The internal as well as the external mechanisms engage and compel me to paint my life, how I think, feel it, how I experience it and how I live it…my paintings are a diary, a catalogue and a chronology of happenings. Like the ripples on water when a rock is skipped across it, so are the echoes of life connected by atoms, not separated, but similar, the same, kinetic energy. Fractals, In mathematics, a fractal is a geometric shape containing detailed structure at arbitrarily small scales, usually having a fractal dimension strictly exceeding the topological dimension. Many fractals appear similar at various scales, as illustrated in successive magnifications of the Mandelbrot set. Life a series of patterns within patterns, within patterns onto themselves from the largest to the smallest in all things…telescopic to microscopic these patterns exist on all levels & aspects…chaos changes the patterns, thus outcomes, sometimes subtly other times not so much, as it, we all change, grow & evolve..

It’s not the first or even the second time I’ve raised and spoke about these ideas. They’re are significant and so important to me in so many ways, some I’ve illustrated now and others in the past. By design, like an artwork, our being & collective consciousness are but echoes of a single entity…life, the universe & everything. Like a Phoenix rising from ashes, so it is every time I paint, an opportunity to fly, to create anew, still the patterns & rhythms echo supremely throughout, from me to you, as one expressing our unique sameness unbridled. Hope you enjoy these 2 works and see the echo & synchronicity that occurred and that have appeared and so it goes, life.

peace, love & light Richard

‘The Prettiest Star’ 30”x30” mixed media abstract

New Day 30"x30" oil representational

Art, Nature & Soul #69

It’s been an amazing year, that I’m so grateful for. All challenges & opportunities accepted, and their gifts, given & received.

As a young boy growing up, my family life was filled with enormous amounts of relentless traumatic events, life turmoil & angst, as well as a profound sense of love, unspoken. I’ve been creating art since then, age 6 being my earliest memory of such doings, although the sporadic & constant struggles that loomed upon my family often just shut me down, mentally, emotionally & physically, as a child & teen, hence my art would suffer & halt, just stop, as well….me unaware that it was leaving me in a more desperate, maudlin & melancholiac state. A roller coaster of emotion, joy, bliss, profound sadness & panic…a more recent diagnosis of ptsd, has shed light on some of my triggers. I developed a wicked sense of humor to manage, laughter & comedy are the best, but, I’ve often found peace & solace in music, I still do. Trying to power through the events of the day, the week, month and passing years, I’d sing and personalize the lyrics…I suppose many of us did. As a preteen this tune was played & a torch song by me often, over & over again on a 45 vinyl I had/have…Rose Garden

Song by Lynn Anderson

Lyrics

“I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden
Along with the sunshine
There's gotta be a little rain sometime
When you take you gotta give so live and let live or let go
Oh-whoa-whoa-whoa
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden”

As time went on, I matured & learned to play in the rain, literally splashing in the puddles, too fun & I still like walking in the rain, it feels like a cleansing of sorts. As an older adult, I power through the difficult times, as art is my life’s mission, my therapy & besides, now I see the color even on the most grey of days & it’s amazing!

I try to live by a simple creed or motto, ‘Just do it’, when you can do it, meaning Carpe Diem,…life waits for no one, so seize the moments of your life, a bucket list, both doable & challenging. With that sentiment this years has been full, almost too full, not perfect, but imperfectly perfect or perfectly imperfect, as life is a an action word of change & happenings.

I’m a planner, so I try to have always have a plan, a direction in which I’m moving. This year came on with a bang, more than a whimper, as I added a ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ car model with the gang in it, to my meditation shelves & space. A favorite film as a child that still holds some feel good sentimental attachments. With that, 2022 was on and it was going to be a happening as the third year of the covid pandemic began. I had, had it, covid that is, & me being vaccinated & boosted as well, so it was catch up time for us. Don, myself & the pups, Blaze & Amber, were ready to romp & boo boo.

I had completed the first painting of the year, entitled ‘Blue Veil’ an 18”x18” in oil, in mostly blues, with a male dancer in it. It was inspired by a Russian dancer friend of mine who’s in the Bolshoi Ballet. I always have a daily inspiration & poetry book to read. This year was A Year With Rumi & Jim Caroll’s Fear of Dreaming. I also had some of my book reads lined up, the DUNE trilogy & Yuval Noah Harari’s trilogy on the history of humankind, past, present & future, profound & on the nose, my thoughts as well.

The past year had brought on more health & age related issues. Yep, at 57, 58, I’m all 7’s & 8’s you might say. Besides having three vision prescriptions, beginning in my 40’s. I’ve been relatively healthy but for a broken foot as a kid, a couple eye injuries when I was in my 20’s, a small hernia repair and a bought of planters fasciitis, brought on by the abuses of a day job, & that I’ve been dealing with since it got triggered 8-10 years ago. Towards the end of last year I discovered that I had several herniated discs and pinched nerves in my neck, my left arm, my painting arm was going numb as I continued to paint, so it’s been lots of physical therapy, both assisted & at home. Then having went in for a pre cancer screening, as I’m an ex smoker low these past 14 years, I discovered instead some plaque and a bit of atherosclerotic heart build up & aortic distension that has me on a statin to combat. So yes I’m discovering that aging isn’t for the faint of heart…so we make adjustments and move forward, as always. Sciatica, Sciatica, I bellow out…

I had made reservations a year in advance to check one of those bucket list items off, by going snorkeling. So we did, 3rd week of January we headed for a frequented haunt of St Augustine Florida, then on to Key West (the pups, who love to travel, were on board the boat as we snorkeled, an amazing thrill), back to Flagler Beach where we stayed at the Whale Watch motel. A little place we’d passed by, over many years, that had intrigued me as it, sits overlooking the Atlantic in an area where the whales pass by. We had just missed a few, by all accounts by other watchers. On our way home we stopped in Georgia, just north of Atlanta where my only living sibling, my sister and her adult daughters, my nieces had relocated too, over the covid years, past, some I hadn’t had the chance to say by to or wish them well…so it was important to me and it was a great trip & we were off to a fantastic start to the year.

Then, back home we crossed paths with a couple of coyotes. I’ve seen them from a distance over these many years, but this time we were close, I tried to make noise to shoo them away, instead one seemed to be flanking us the other blocked the path before walking towards us. We hightailed it out there. Mid fall we crossed paths again at dusk, it was to close for comfort. Our timing is synced and we’re on a similar path, this time they seemed to be hunting us…I’m concerned and trying to stay out of their territory. Shortly after returning, we met up with my twin cousins about 2 hours west of us for brunch, as dad had wanted to show me a stone Native American sculpture on on the river were he had spent a great deal of time hunting when he was a young parent and also, where he wants his ashes spread after his passing. I started playing around with creating B&W photo cameos just before the Russian/Ukraine war took hold. The gallery I’m at, held a fundraiser for the Children of Ukraine effected by the war. 15 or so artists donated artworks for the UNICEF children’s campaign, it was a success I donated 2 pieces, 1 sold, a large sunflower with a map of the Ukraine. We saw long time comedic icon, Carol Burnett, perform at the Chicago Theater, a bucket list dream come true & after waiting 2 covid years, the UK musical phenomenon Jacob Collier performed at the Riviera Theater, Chicago. He’s a massive talent to watch,

My husband Don turned 60 this year so we met up with his family for a dinner party at a local pub and later that month went to the Arcada Theater, here in St. Charles Il. to see the Musical Box, tribute band perform The Lamb Lays Down , endorsed by the band Genesis. Don & I continue to work through a multitude of issues. You’d think after 36 years things would be a lot easier & more smooth & comfortable, but theses days it seem that neither of us are getting what we want from each other & we bicker & argue a lot, like grumpy old men. I yearn for the fun, calm & comfort of our norm or resolution. We got covid and I was out of work, unpaid, yet again. Three days of flu like symptoms, nothing too bad, but I don’t usually get ill…so there’s that . A week or so later we met up with Don’s youngest sister’s family, for dinner before heading to another concert…Garbage opening for a longtime favorite of mine, Tears For Fears…they were both awesome cool.

Politics, religion & covid have caused some insurmountable problems with some family members & friends…It seems there’s confusion about personal choice & imposing ones will on others, even at the cost of their health, well being, safety, security & life. Where as mine is put in jeopardy, dismissed & forgotten about and the idea of being empathetic of other’s thoughts & ideas, that are unlike theirs, is unknown, and an alien concept, muchless the idea of taking responsibility for the nations, or the worlds peoples. As sanctioned & brought to you by their opposing views, ala me, me, & more me, it seems most, at least 1/2 are unable to work well & play well with others. Something they should have learned in grade school. I worry about the country, as well as world affairs, as do many, now, too. So let’s say collectively it’s about WE, not me.

Always painting & reading daily, weekly..as it feeds me. I’ve started a yoga & meditation discipline, it’ll take time to make it a more daily practice. So happy to have given up coffee about 10 years ago, in favor of tea I love Adagio tea, Yunnan Noir, black dragon pearls, Masala Chia & Oriental Spice are good too, my herbals Fox Trot and Blood Orange are superior ..they’re out of New Jersey but we have a local shop near me too. By summer, we planned to take a long weekend up in Michigan staying at a cabin with the pups at a LGBTQ resort, ‘Camp-It’…always so fun & chill. On route we had decided to go to the PRIDE parade here in Chicago, this year, more than most, it seemed so important to make our stand, our voices heard, & we hadn’t went to one in many, many moons besides. WE, the pups and a million or so others had united in love & support, for the day…oh what a feeling, a real thrill, a good decision. Art Institute of Chicago opened a Cezanne exhibit, the first in 70 years, as a fan we attended & I was inspired. Later that month we made it to the 50th anniversary of the musical performance of Jesus Christ Superstar, at the Cadillac Palace, Chicago. I’m a longtime fan of the music, play, & words of Jesus, as well as the other & many inspired sages of the world, as I consider myself a Unitarian Universalist. It was fantasmagorical…another thrill & bucket list event, checked off.

Olivia Newton-John passed on after a 30 year battle with cancer. It effected me deeply, it seems strange with all the more personal losses of friends & family over the years that a celebrity passing would touch me so. She was a most beautiful human being, the most. My dad has continued to struggle health wise , mentally & physically over the past several years. With our relationship having always been at odds with each other and so strained, its been difficult and more than I can successfully manage emotionally. With my sister & my nieces having recently moved out of state, my feelings of isolation & aloneness, have been overwhelming, it all leaves me feeling abandoned, the orphan. With Fathers Day just around the corner we planned and took dad to brunch & on a riverboat ride cruise, along the Fox River…he seemed to really enjoy it and I’m glad, as he seems to enjoy very little of life, these days. My nieces have come to state several times too, but for one reason or the other we haven’t been able to meet up, it saddens me greatly.

The indie folk rock band The Decemberists, were back at The Chicago Theater too, a great concert, but they didn’t play ‘The Mariners Revenge Song’ there or at any of the venues they had played for this month long tour…a favorite, I wonder why. They have been my favorite band over the past decade, indie folk rock rules. My creative output & painting has been sporadic this year as sales have been down, as has been the economy most of the year. But not to worry, inflation has been insane, every bill and personal cost has went up 20-40%, just not my day job income, ever here. The gallery & frame shop, in which is my bread & butter, is not without it’s inordinate obstacles, complications & challenges, low these near 7 years, but not to be dwelled on. We took the pups hiking at Starved Rock State Park, a regular visit for us, that’s always a treat, nature & all. Those pups, Blaze & Amber, are my joy & bliss. My sister was in town for family-in-law stuff and we were able to meet for lunch at Gia Mia’s, in St Charles, so nice, it was a beautiful day, a moment to cherish, I captured a selfie of us two, too.

September brought the release of the documentary ‘Moonage Daydream’ , a David Bowie life montage…simply brilliant, unlike anything you’ve ever seen before of the genre. I’m a bit of a film addict, there where lots of new good features…a few being, The wwi film, All Quiet on the Western Front, the documentary, Andy Warhol Diaries, an older Dutch LGBTQ film BOYS, The Northman, Banshee’s of Inisherin, & the horror films, X & NOPE. I have high hopes for Spielberg’s The Fabelman too. We went to the Pet Shop Boys/ New Order concert it the Huntington Pavilion on Lake Michigan in Chicago and danced the night away, a rude and abrupt reminder of my age, muscles and bones ached for days afterward as they hadn’t moved that way in a long while, lol…its all good though, as they are to 2 bands I’ve adored a lifetime & well worth it. This was the night before we headed out to our annual road trip to Ptown. We kept enroute and the scenics to a minimum this year, as I needed to chill & we did. We did all our favorite things, we love to do while we were there…plus, we became foodies for the week, walked the breakwater & saw the whales, yet again, pups on board with us & always a beautiful thing, a mystic & ethereal thrill.

My artwork seems to have taken a surprise and welcome turn this year, even more loose then my normal loose, organic and flowing out of me in an honest, sincere, & meaningful way. Looking back, it feels like a good painting year & several stand out as especially successful to me, a commissioned piece Evening Glow, (it was likened to Turner)…plus, The Visible, Bohemia, The Majestic, Misty Meadow, Essence, T.N. 2022…the Rainy Day in Chicago piece I posted here & the large abstract triptych, Go Away White, that I’m currently working on. While I’m content to paint, & feel I’m on the verge of significant commercial breakthrough, I do wonder time to time if so, when? Still, I have discovered I’m a bit of a influencer, unacknowledged as it may be, true never the less & a compliment of sorts too. I’m an avid reader and there’s been several worth mentioning & remembering, The Shores of Bohemia, The Children of Ash & Elm, At Swim Two Boys, Van Gogh and the Artist He Loved, Dream Boy & On Tyranny…I haven’t got to the Cezanne exhibition book yet, but I’m sure I will, by years end. An exhibition opened at Wrightwood 659 in Chicago. The First Homosexuals: Global Depictions of a New Identity, 1869-1930, part 1 of a 2 part exhibition, it was so important for us to attend & beyond outstanding…I’m so glad we were able to make it and look forward to part 2 in 2025, plus I await its exhibition book too.

After Bowie endorsed the band Arcade Fire I became a huge fan so we went to see them at the United Center…another bucket list item, checked off. They began playing as we found out the democrats had won Nevada in the midterms & that American Democracy , its system of checks & balances had prevailed, once again, for now. An awesome night. WE Celebrated!! Several days later we went to help usher in, the next wave of cool, you all remember cool, right? Long live glitter rock n’ roll with the glam, goth, theater rock stylings of a band out of Italy, MANESKIN (moonshine)…I went in leather, lace, velvet, a black feather boa, a pink glitter heart on my left cheek, a brass safety pin dangling from my hoop earing and the appropriate amount of lip & eye liner, with Don on my arm, to the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago… Iggy Pop had done vocals on one of their tunes, a rerelease of I Wanna Be Your Slave…that spoke volumes to me & it was good to be ‘loud kids’ again, for the night. I see great things in their future, like rising stars shooting across the sky, just watch them go, in awe & wonderment. Don said, “probably the best band we’ve seen.”

This Thanksgiving, will be another quiet day with Don, myself & dad and we’ll do Christmas Eve, with him as well, at a longtime family haunt, The Golden Pheasant, if life allows & so it is, another year passes. I’ll play Olivia N-J & Sufjan Stevens 5 disc holiday albums from the end of November through the New Year. I sometimes wish so many things hadn’t changed, but then that is life, lest we forget, an ever changing scape, where we make decisions & choices as the world turns & time, like sands in a hour glass, passes us by. And I think, yes, we are here for but a moment & I’m grateful for each & everyone of them.

I love Chicago & the Land of Lincoln, I grew up a fifteen minute drive from downtown Chicago & we visited it often for events, as such & the like…I still do regularly, even though we’ve moved, a bit further west, out into the burbs & country, for all the benefits they afford. The cultural diverseness and the arts have always beckoned me there, to the city, my 2nd home. This piece came together as more of a statement, ‘Along with the sunshine, There's gotta be a little rain sometime.’ Our lives are mostly at bay, a distanced view, a perspective, an attitude & choices, so grateful to be here for all of it & time marches on. BTW my pronoun is the obscure Thone, meaning that one or the one & I Am, that is I identify as Queer af. So then, I had this articulated thought & moment of clarity…WE, ALL LIFE, ARE ORGANIC ALGORITHMS RECOGNIZING MATHEMATICAL PATTERNS OF FRACTALS x CHAOS, MADE OF THE INDESTRUCTIBLE MATTER & ENERGY OF SYNCHRONICITY IN THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUSNESS OF THE SPACE TIME CONTINUUM...stardust, be it named, the Universe, Absolute Reality or God.

I never thought I’d be able to do any of it, until I started thinking, ‘Just Do it.’

Dear Diary,

Peace, Love & Light,

With Grace & Gratitude,

Sincerely Richard

‘Rainy Day Chicago’ 24”x30” oil

Art, Nature & Soul #61 Sold/Donation

STAND WITH UKRAINE-Fundraiser-April 2022 SOLD for Donation

Sunflowers symbolise loyalty & adoration. The sunflower (or “soniashnyk”) is Ukraine's national flower and has been grown on its central and eastern steppes since the middle of the 18th century. In a matter of weeks, the sunflower has become a worldwide symbol of support for the Ukraine.

At the bottom in green, is a map of the country of Ukraine. Each of the sunflowers within it, symbolize the Ukranian people in the most populated areas of the Ukraine. The area with the most sunflowers is the capital city of Kyiv, that has taken some of the heaviest shelling, and where an artist friend was in hospital when it all began. He has been fighting for his life since. The single sunflower symbolizes Volodymyr Zelenskyy, its most brave & courageous president, standing his ground and leading his people.

It will be available at Proud Fox Gallery & Frame Shop, Geneva Illinois where during the month of April 2022, a dozen or so of its artists, George Bruce, Kyle Buckland, Michael Cane, David Hettinger, Errol Jacobson, Don & Ellen Ljung, Maureen McKee, Brian Sauerland, Stephanie Weidner, Randy Willis, William Worcester & myself, will be making a stand and offering our artworks as support of the Ukraine. Proceeds from the event, will be donated to UNICEF USA, Children's Fund, that is on the ground in eastern Ukraine ramping up assistance for children & their families.

I have several friends & artist friends from or in the Ukraine. 1, artist friend, that was having difficulty getting in hospital. e.m. care for his severe internal bleed, a non war related issue, as they are understaffed and overrun with causalities. Not, only am I seeing photos of the horrors of war and the carnage, but even more so, images of the brave & iconic, are showing up all over my social media links, of people of all ages & backgrounds in the Ukraine's struggle, patriotism, & devastation, those including their presidents bravery as a leader… a true leader in effort to maintain their freedom, from the grasp of a tyrant.

That so stated, my neighbors of 26, years are Russian. I worked with their daughter, my friend, many years ago. I have several artists friends that are Russian & have 1 of their artworks in my home. I know several Russian gay men, 1 an acquaintance, that escaped the gay hunters in Russia during the Obama presidency, asking & taking asylum here in the U.SA. and several others still living under severe oppression in Russia, with severe and often life threatening penalties. My Russian friends, some here in the states, are worried about their families and are sharing pictures and videos of the Russian peoples attempts to stand up against their current government, this, including Russian military personnel, not wanting to fight against their neighbors, their family and their friends, in favor of peace & freedom for all, so it is also their well being that is also in my thoughts.

My friend Ilya, with the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, reflects what all my Russian friends here in the U.S.A. and abroad are feeling & conveying, please remember this.. He stated, ”…sick of pride, ambition, and vanity, cannot fight us. We must not give in to hating each other! Through love we overcome evil.” We, the people of the world must be united in our support to both the Ukrainian people & encourage the Russian population that's trying to stop its government from continuing down this war path. Remember this, Putin, the Russian government and its blind followers are the threat, not the majority of it's civilian persons.

Further details at

Proud Fox Gallery & Frame Shop

213 W. State St Geneva Il. 60134

www.proudfoxgallery.com

As always, thanks for your support , your questions & comments are welcome,

Richard

'Stand With Ukraine’ 16”x40” oil SOLD/Donation

Color Study #114 'Let the Sunshine’ 12”x12” oil

Art, Nature & Soul #60

I just gotta paint, that’s it! I see something, imagine a thing, get a feeling, and go for it. These color studies are my playtime, free streaming, eyes to brain to hand…no, over thinking, just a blissful outpouring of emotion & paint… color my world and I’ll color yours. I hope they bring you as much joy as they bring me.

As always, these are available for your consideration at www.richardsperrygallery.com & your comments and questions are welcome~

Richard

www.richardsperrygallery.com

Art, Nature & Soul #59

The deep blue sea, the darkness of an undersea world, as illuminated by the flickering light from above. A place where representational meets abstract in the recesses of the mind. As a young boy I loved to swim and especially underwater.

Growing up, I learned to swim at the YMCA, then we had a pool in our backyard. I’d spend hours swimming, doing circles and swimming back and forth across he middle underwater. In boy scout camp, I remember one camping trip in particular spent tenting, canoeing and swimming. Once I had swam out pretty far into the lake and decided to dive deep as I could. I was pretty good at holding my breath, so after one deep breath I dove to the bottom of the lake, some 15-20 feet or so, opened my eyes and magic, that was it. The water was green, the light flickered from above and I could see the plants, slimed with algae and fish swimming by me close. I was amazed, tickled & wanted to stay down there forever. Thinking back It was my, obscure reference #1, Incredible Mr. Limpit moment. A story about a man who loves the sea so much he dreams of being a fish and then is one. Flipper, Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea & Jacques Cousteau, obscure reference #2, were all favorite TV shows, I’d watch regularly in awe in deep fascination. I had even thought of being a n Oceanographer in middle school, then swimming with and photographing the ocean seas creatures in my teens and early 20s.

At 57, I’ve finally booked a charter to go snorkeling for the first time. Our road trip included a 4 day stop in Key West, Florida, so I found a charter that left off of Stock Island in Key West. It was a Wild About Dolphins excursions. We choose the 3.5 hour trip. Tara, our guide was fantastic, as the pups came along for the boat ride and she watched after them so we could snorkel. After watching a couple pods of Dolphins, one that had a baby swimming with them, we headed for Casa Rocks, 2-3 ,miles off the island shore. Don, my husband, & I went in together, after testing the water to see if we needed wet suits or not. The water was about 75 degrees so we opted to swim without, although they would have made us more buoyant & offered some protection from the sea critters. Tara gave excellent instructions as she passed us the flippers, mask & snorkel. After getting in the water, I realized I hadn’t swam in over a decide and its a lot of work, so we went back for noodles, a float assist, so we could focus on getting used to the flippers , mask and snorkel…& breath through your mouth, not your nose…ha. I swam over the reef, repeatedly made that mental note and stuck my face in the water.

Wow, so amazing, a great variety of & hundreds and hundreds of sea critters, all living together. There were so many different types and some in large schools, it was hard to keep track of all that I was looking at. That said, the ones that stood out were several Yellow Tangs, a large Parrot Fish, what I think was a Spider Crab & a Moon Jellyfish, that I made sure to keep mt distance from. It was thrilling to watch them all do there thing, in the community around the living coral reef, 3rd largest in the world. As I often do, I just kept thinking symbiotics, symbiotics. Most life either gets it or just lives it instinctively…then I think, humans? Try as we may, a large percent just doesn’t get it. In my way of thinking, all of life needs and relies on these relationships or survival, and the patterns made echo across all life. By definition though, its more directly related to, 2 species mutual dependency for survival, like anemone & a clown fish. Symbiosis is a close ecological relationship between the individuals of two (or more) different species. Sometimes a symbiotic relationship benefits both species, sometimes one species benefits at the other's expense, and in other cases neither species benefits, so ask which are you and be it.

I have watched & read a fair amount of non fiction & documentary on sea life, and in particular, endangered whales. This painting is based on an image from one such educational opp & experience, that I’ve translated into a painting, charged with my thoughts, emotions & favorite color…blue. Plus the thrill eagerly anticipated entrance of the whole undersea world’s life, in it's abundance & glory. Snorkeling was a great thrill that I intend to do again, until then, I paint the world I live in, as I see & experience it.

6 different blues, a green, violet, magenta, 3 yellows, white, on canvas using an arsenal of paint brushes, palette knives & other implements were all used in combinations to create this piece. As always, your comments & questions are welcome~ Richard Sperry

‘Caverns’ 24”x24” oil

Caverns 24"x24" oil

Me snorkeling for the first time, in Key West 2022..

Art, Nature & Soul #57

Sometimes what we say, is being said so loud no one can hear us, much less listen. Over the past 5-10 years, here in the good ole U.S.A. it seems to be the case. Our government, a democratic-republic and it’s system of checks and balances’ is the best in the world, but it works much better when the pendulum doesn’t swing quite so wide. Respect, diplomacy, & critical thinking seems to be at an all time low, second only to that during the civil war.

Humans are a fearful lot. Especially when it comes to persons of different ethnicities, cultures & belief systems. What we do not understand, we try to destroy. Historically, the fight for survival, is a brutal one. Humans are a nomadic lot, seeking abundance...an abundance of food, shelter & freedom to be, to have choices, to live in the ways we think best for our selves, our group. Often times, either intentionally or inadvertently taking away those same choices from others in the process, in a power struggle, forgetting that all of humanity is our group. With this in mind, I celebrate the mix, the American melting pot, the search for, the choices & freedoms we have as individuals, as conceived by those who fled one land, for another , plus the founding mothers & fathers intentions. I embrace the differences, the choices, the freedoms & advocate the sharing of the abundance, the harvest. Sit down with those persons you do not understand, ask questions, hear truths, seek facts, understand history & context, be respectful, break bread and share the abundance, the wealth, the harvest and by all means be grateful for all these opportunities, given & received, moving forward.

The Pilgrims Monument, was erected in Provincetown MA. a reminder of our early roots, our history, the intention, the reality, its cost. Today it stands as a beacon and safe haven for people of belief systems of diversity, acceptance & respect, from here & around the world.

On November 23, 1977, my brother Rodney, age 4, passed on from this world, the 24th, Thanksgiving was the day after, we buried him days later, I was just 13. He had CP and other health complications. These four years were perhaps the most influential & defining of my life. I learned in a very short time what it truly meant to be human, to be alive and the purpose. As it turned out, the lesson was a very simple one, to choose love.

So many people come and go, pass by, throughout our lifetime. Sometimes by death, but often times the various stages of a life and transitory nature of people, are the other necessary factors. From the time we are born, we are growing, mind, body & soul, striving to survive, searching for the more permanent connections of our lives, in the pursuit of happiness. We seek out the people , persons and things that validate who we are or want to be. Often times, by circumstance, not choice we loose touch with family, friends & acquaintances…those influential teachers of our lives, whom we’ve had those intimate times & lessons, on what it means to be human, to be alive. All these people stay in my head, my memories, in a time capsule of sorts. The memories flash, I remember, I wonder, I hope they are well, as they appear in my head, as they did the last times I saw them, but knowing full well their lives have also changed or ended.

I’m a bit of a romantic, sentimental guy, my memories are intense, while I know things, people, myself, aren’t perfect …my memories are flooded with the perfection of the imperfect moments of our time held in amber, all these relationships and their lessons. People have become even more nomadic, often times scattered to the four corners, even more so in the past quarter century or more. However, with the internet and all the social media networks, I’ve been able to stay connected or reconnect with many, many people from my past, plus meet new people from various backgrounds all over the world. I guess what I’m trying to say is, whether or not, we are actively in each others lives these days or we communicate more regularly, know you’re all in my thoughts & fond memories. Know that you are thought of kindly & loved, with hopes that you’re living your best life as you see fit. I am so grateful to have or to have had, all of you in my life! Remember, sometimes what looks like a sunset is really a sunrise.

~Be Thankful, Celebrate Life & it's Diversity, Peace & Love Richard

Beacon 30”x30” oil

Art, Nature & Soul #55

How we see is as important as what we see, when conveying our minds visual capture. Beyond the visual perception, I tend to tap into all my senses, all 7, Sight (Vision), Hearing (Auditory), Smell (Olfactory), Taste (Gustatory), Touch (Tactile), Vestibular (Movement), Proprioception (Body Position) and perhaps another the intuitive nature and third eye.

Sitting on the deck of the Aqua Bar in Provincetown, Ptown Massachusetts and looking out over the sea and sky, the moon rose and glistened off the water. I was taken by the subtle light and movement of the night. I broke out my camera to get a photo capture of what I was seeing, the sparkle of moonlight twinkling across the ocean. How could the light reflecting off the moon be bright enough to be cast upon the water, I questioned in my mind, but it was and did. It was about 75 degrees with a light breeze that moved the water and air around this night, the photo hardly captured it, which fascinated me. A distant pier, the McMillian Warf and several boats, had a few lights shining off them too, but it was 1/2 hour after sunset and the light seemed to fade to black when I began to search for the light.

There’s a multitude of color theories, but the one I’ve found most helpful is to find the light, seek the color and look for how they interact and reflect off each other, let the dance, play & mingle be what they are and see it. A wise artist, Hilda Neily, that I had pleasure of painting & studying with, once said to me, “it’s like dropping acid” once you get it, you see it and it can’t be undone. I’ve found that to be true, Even though, and perhaps more so here in the mid-west with more traditional color schemes. Most, I dare say see the sky as blue, the grass as green and dirt as brown. Now when I look for the color I first see the light. In my paintings I often juxtapose both my regular & new ways of seeing them in a single painting., such is the case here, not in blocks but layered & moving planes of color & texture. Edges more than line, it seems it’s all connected, not separated by line, the world around us, the things in it, all intersect, relate to and are more symbiotic than not, in the broadest sense as well as the minut.

One morning, while in Ptown it was raining. I broke out my easel, paint, some small panels and utensils for painting. I found a wonderful view from the second floor out the window, another outside on the deck, and yet another from the the photo and sensory memory of the moon, sky & water, while sitting on the deck experiencing it. Here’s the result, as I’m 57 years old, it took fifty-seven years of studying, growing, time ,money & passion to complete this one, now that’s an investment.

Your questions & comments are welcome, always,

Richard

Color Study #100, Moonbeams 12’x12’ oil on panel

Art, Nature & Soul #54

*The plight of the whales of the world are a cause near and dear to my heart. The many species along the eastern seaboard and particularly the North Atlantic Right Whale have a special place for me, as I've been following them from some of their feeding grounds, in Cape Cod, Massachusetts to their calving grounds around the St, Augustine, Florida, for nearly a decade now. If you've followed me for a while you know my meaning. After 2 recent documentary watches 'Entangled' and 'The Loneliest Whale', both excellent, I've decided to donate the total proceeds from the sale of this painting to Center of Coastal Studies Provincetown, as I've seen them in action numerous times and have even participated in an entangled whale rescue. Message me for further info on how to purchase this painting and help to 'Save the Whale', from extinction.

There are only about 400 or so North Atlantic Right Whales surviving along eastern seaboard of North America, their primary resident. Beyond the obvious of the previous 3 centuries Whaling Industry, we have known for quite some time the multiple factors infringing on their ability to thrive. It appears that the primary ones are, entanglement, ship strikes, & sonar disrupting their communications. The Fisheries have, for the most part been trying to cooperate as have the shipping lanes been modified to avoid them when we know when and where they are. Climate change has posed yet another challenge as the areas that we have been trying to protect are not always the places they are going now. With climate change has brought more random chaos and a change in where the abundance of food may or may not be. It seems there is a partial and highly effective solution. The majority of the whale deaths are due to entanglement. A team has created an experimental rope less traps, that if supplied to the fisheries could in fact help the fisheries as well as save the whale. Funding is needed to continue the development and distribute the new traps to the fisheries, free of charge contingent on the agreement of eliminating all roped cages.

For this piece I utilized a photo from one of the documentaries as my reference for the direct approach of painting and its expression. A relatively simple painting and yet beyond the image of the whale, the richness of the colors was extremely important to me in creating the depth of field. The colors used were bleached & unbleached Titanium white, 6 different blues, mineral violet, magenta, Indian yellow, raw sienna & yellow ochre. As I really enjoy varied textures, my primary tools are brushes, palette knives, sculpting tools & tissues. This assisted in creating the illusion of the whale being suspended in the water, paint before the scale of the diver.

Your questions & comments, as always are welcome.,

Richard

’Save the Whale’ 36”x18” oil

Art, Nature & Soul #52

Some of the simplest subjects, make for some of the more compelling paintings. When we set off for home, leaving Ptown, we have got into the tradition of stopping off at Nauset Beach along the Cape Cod coastline.

On this occasion we had picked up breakfast, then stopped at the beach to eat as we were heading off the cape. It’s usually pretty early when we leave 630-7a.m. so the beach is usually pretty vacant, though we have run into the same elderly woman, seemingly doing her morning meditation there, twice now. I have painted her twice now, as well. First time she was sitting oceanside on a massive slab of rock, another she, walking stick in hand, traversing the path, to the top of the sandy cliffs that over look the beach. However this morning, at the beach, was covered in dense fog. Two people were shore fishing and one little bird nestled in the dew covered branches of a pine tree were all the life that could be seen.

The lighthouse swung around beamed across the sky and the fog horn echoed as it blasted through the wet air. We walked along the beach listening to the surf gentle splash upon the sand. It’s an amazing thing, the colors that reveal themselves upon a seemingly grey morning. Wherever the light hit made the colors vivid, a branch, a bird, the sand, sea and air. A lone, unattended Lifeguard Chair revealed itself upon the beach, against the ocean and sky, barely distinguishable one from the other. It seemed the perfect subject in which to find the light and paint the colors it revealed.

After some studying of the surroundings the colors were discovered and painted. Whether I paint on location or back at the studio, I almost always take photo of my subject, sometimes for reference, other times for a record. My color studies are typically done on small hardboard panels. A variety of brushes, palette knives, sculpting tools and tissues were used to convey the more subtle design elements of the scene and a foggy grey morning is transformed.

As always your comment & questions are welcome, Richard

Color Study #24, Off Duty 10”x10” oil on panel

Art, Nature & Soul #50

“Technique is the culmination of my vision, expressed.”
-Richard Sperry

Over a quarter century ago, probably more likely 28 years ago, I painted a portrait of a father holding his daughter. I don’t often have the opportunity to do portraits these days as I mostly paint abstracts, landscape and figurative artworks. Recently I had the opportunity to paint the the little girl from the first paintings daughter and her father, and hope to be here to do the next generation, as well.

As a young boy I was very shy and reserved, almost fearful of the world and its people. I believe in an effort to engage me in family events, I was made the camera guy. That’s right they gave me a camera in which to view the world and capture the moments of which, often times I was an insider on the outside, and thus an outsider.

I loved composing and yet capturing a candid moment, with the small kodak automatic, often times and mostly of family and friends, documenting a history, mine. Later I was given a polaroid and than in my early 20’s, I purchased a 35mm camera. Often times I’d draw pictures of what I had taken a photo of. Thinking the literal already existed in the photo, so the renderings were often exaggerations and if they were of people caricatured likeness’s even if in the slightest of ways. The layering and emotional aspects came later. Although even in high school I did commissioned portraits, mostly in soft pastel though. As a young adult, in my early to mid 20s, I had started painting and trying my hand at oil portraits, so I’d use my photos as references , as that’s what I had to work with at the time, and that’s how the first father & daughter portrait happened. One holiday get together, I took lots of photos, but on this occasion I used a half dozen of them as my models. The Naomi & Michael photo, was a tender moment captured on film that I took to the next level, translating it into an oil painting.

Typically, especially back then, I’d do a preliminary sketch, in vine charcoal, although now I mostly use ebony pencil. This to assure both proportion and a good composition on the canvas. The initial painting was created with a larger 1” brush and broad strokes, quickly rendering and shaping the image, outlining in key areas. As the figures were the most important part of this painting I kept the background in shadow with only the slightest of light and color illuminating it and the figures from one lamp. A quarter century or so later, I posted it on Facebook to illustrate a thought. The little girl, all grown up now, with a family of her own, who never knew the painting existed, as it was my earlier figure work, saw it and loved it. I had always intended on giving it to her at some point, as her father had passed on a decade earlier…but now was the time. So after some time, I shipped it to her, her now being out of state. Having received it and loving it, she contacted me and commissioned me to do a portrait of her husband and daughter. And so I did, capturing yet another tender moment in paint, telling her, let’s plan for next generation too, in a playful sentiment.

From crayolas & cameras, to oil paint, my style and techniques have evolved over a lifetime, as I’ve grown into my vision, yet the basic emotional content and message have remained the same. We are connected, we are loved, and we are here in this moment.

Commissions are welcome, as are any questions or comments,

Richard

Mark and Dorthea circa 2021

Michael & Naomi circa 1993ish

Art, Nature & Soul #47

About 15 years ago, My artwork was exhibited in a Chicago gallery, I was told by the gallery owner, “Some people won’t buy your artwork, if they know you’re gay.” I was doing, in part, more design orientated abstracts at the time, so I simple did a series where I put one stenciled letter in each piece, when laid out in order & together it said, “A Queer Boys Story”. I decided then, enough was enough, no more in & out or hiding!

This piece is a throwback to some of my earliest paintings, some 35 years ago. My teens were fraught with deep confusion, angst & turmoil as I struggled to come to terms with who I was. The mid 1980s in my early 20s I had finally begun to understand who I was, where I fit in & to embrace my sexuality. As I turned 20 I simple proclaimed, “I Am” & continued to play the androgynous, bi guy, for a time, before committing to the male/male scene. Much of the artwork I created then, revolved around exploring these themes & things, in a world that had barely begun to understand, muchless accept a more varied concept of human sexuality. I identify as QUEER & my pronoun is ‘Thone’.

Now as then, these themed artworks were meant to be in your face, in your mind & make you think... A way to say, I am here, so get used to it, over it. In 1962, Illinois, the state I live and grew up in, became the first state to take the archaic sodomy laws off the books. I was born in 64’. By 1982, the year I graduated from high school, HIV/Aids was at the forefront of happenings and we had a president who was doing everything possible to ignore and play it down. It was, “only effecting the homos” anyway, or so they thought. In 2020, we had a president who blindly, knowingly sacrificed hundreds of thousands of Americans to another world wide pandemic, COVID, for his own narrow minded cause….power, money & greed, while at the same time, undermining & rolling back 100s of educated/enlightened/progressive policies, including those designed to acknowledge & integrate the LGBTQ communities in the U.S.A. When your country, your world is at war with you, you fight back, art was/is my vehicle and the message is, I AM!

History is more circuitous than linear, LGBTQ people exist in every culture from the beginning of time, throughout the ebb and flow of acceptability. It’s only when person’s of the ‘ME” instead of the ‘WE’ persuasion, impose their will over human nature that persons of minority become outcast rather than embraced. When you put aside your fears & insecurities, one seeks knowledge, you receive understanding, enlightenment and begin to realize everyone/thing has a purpose and value in the world. With the devastating & brutal attacks on the LGBTQ communities across the planet swinging back around to the U.S.A., I felt compelled to assert my presence as a person who will fight the good fight for whoever is under attack by the masses. Freedom, Equal Rights & Anti Discrimination, for all & to secure for all individuals freedom from discrimination against any individual because of his or her race, color, religion, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, order of protection status, marital status, physical or mental disability, military status, sexual orientation, pregnancy, or unfavorable discharge from military service.

As mentioned above, while the theme here is one I explored in my artwork some 35 ish years ago. the execution is different in many ways. This piece was painted over a 4 month period of layering and enhancing. I utilize a variety of brushes, palette knives, pencils, paint markers, scratching tools and even tissues to achieve the desired aesthetic. Here we have lots of scribbles, marks & erasures, plus abstract & realistic elements, I began with a 4 color acrylic drip & splatter painting, then began to paint me in, a layer of ebony pencil written graffiti & symbols, oil painted some blocks of color & form, oil pastel enhanced, charcoal stick, 18K gold paint giving more line and symbol, my signature 18k gold leaf addition & then stenciled the unmistakable word QUEER. Next it was time to entitle the piece, ‘Queer AF Selfie’, ‘57 Special’, were on the table, but my original thought stuck, “Portrait of the Artist in His 50s”, 40”square mixed media on canvas was finalized with my signature.

As always feel free to ask question or comment,

Richard R. Sperry

‘Portrait of the Artist in His 50s’ 40”x40” mixed media on canvas $57,000.00 available

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