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 #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 #28

One fall the 3rd week of October, some 15 years ago, Don, myself and three of our pups, loaded up in our Dodge Grand Caravan and headed for Mount Desert Island (MDI) Maine. On a road trip you can take in the colors of fall and they were particularly vibrant this year as we drove from Illinois to Maine observing the different trees and colors of the states. We arrived in the coastal town of Bar Harbor on MDI and ”it’s so beautiful”, that’s right beautiful & I continued to say that more times than ever before over our week stay. It was solidly 55-75 degrees & perfect walking weather.

New England has always been of fascination to me. I had family out east when I was growing up. The ocean, its old world charm and history had me hooked from the beginning. Everywhere on MDI was yet another picuresque and paintable vista around every turn and so was the inspiration for this piece. A nested harbor for the lobster man of Maine. Egg Rock Light is in the distance as gulls and sea birds circle around in search of food, flanked by spits of land & coastal pines. It’s a cool day and the waters are choppy, but perfect for the fisherman as the boats come and go in search of their catch of the day. A seagull sits sentry upon the scene as the men on the docks pull up cages, small boat, still another sits fishing while a lobster scurries loose on the pier unbeknowst to all but the pup, Kai-Guy, our oldest & first Shiba Inu, knows its there and wants to play.

Its lasting impression survives in this and other such images I created and painted of the area. Where , the sea beckons me, people still make there living fishing, & lobster is served every which you can, even as fast food.

As always feel free to comment. ~Richard

Rock Lobster, 30”x24” oil (2008) NFS

Art, Nature & Soul #27

Commissions Welcome! While it would be great if everything one painted sold, it’s not the case. The truth is, if you’re a more prolific artist, you produce a lot of art. The majority of it is good, some superior and fewer pieces, are just experiments that went askew . That said, the market is satuarated with art, artists and painters trying to sell their work, especially in recent history. It seems a great many people are trying to find a more balanced lifestyle, thus, creating fills the need, that’s great and I encourage that whole heartedly. I’ve often thought about holding & teaching an art expression/therapy group. I still may, in the near future.

That said, commissioned artwork is yet another avenue of services, that I offer, as painter. From abstract to portraits and everywhere in between, even bookcovers, have been some of the requests I’ve honored upon commission. It can be more of a challenge to paint commissioned piece, as it’s, in part bridging a clients vision to mine. Although most clients know what I do and their expectations correlate to them from the start. I’ve been doing commissioned work since I was a young teenager. Some of them commercial business signs, still others pastel portraits, & even stained glass windows, are some works I’ve accomplished upon request .

This piece was commissioned by a person who had a particular vision. She lives here in the midwest & winters on the Georgia coast. The beach, ocean, & it’s abundant life, plus it’s calming effect have a great appeal to her. The sandpipers scurry and feed along the shoreline. It was with a certain color pallette and look, intended that this piece was executed and delivered to another happy collector.

as always, Your questions & comments are welcome

~Richard

‘Shoreline Beachcombers’ 24”x20” oil on canvas (Commissioned 2018)

Art, Nature & Soul #24

Blue has always been my favorite color. Those of a more color sensitive nature, will appreciate the tonal nature of this piece and the line I’m playing between abstract & representational art.

We went out to Cape Cod, back in 2014, it had been over a decade since I had been to the ocean. Where the vast sea and sky meet, has left a lasting impression on me. I have painted both abstract and representational artworks for over a quarter century now. Typically they have been seperate entities, with an ocassional mixing of the two on the same canvas. In an effort to unify my body of work, I began trying to break down representational ideas into they’re more abstract forms, with the intention of leaving some of those representational things intact, on the canvas.

Having studied some of my most favorite artists, both living and dead, approaches to achieving they’re goals in their artworks, I set forth to create my own trademark look. The thought being , not to do what they do, but to discover what makes/made their work successful, make my work better and perhaps apply it to my own. The list of artist is to long to state here, but you may be surprised at who they are, so ask me sometime, I’m glad to share and promote them. Myself having mostly experimented and having very little formal training, found this to be a revelation of process’s.

Here is one of the early results of a more tonal concept & approach. A variety of blue and white paints, a multitude of painting tools, a complimentary color toned canvas and the inspiration that the sea & sky provided, along with the words of one of my favorite American thinkers.

“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson

As always, feel free to ask question or comment,

~Richard R. Sperry

Blue Haze' 24"x24" oil on canvas in private collection

Art, Nature & Soul #15

Intuitive and stream of conscious, so were the the artworks done in this time frame. Sunrise and sunset, the day begins and ends,  many of my color sketches, studies and completed works, involve these times of day, as it's when I'm out there, usually walking, inspired.

During this time I was writing and editing a novel, 'Libertalia, Seize the Day for Remember We All Must Die' under the pen name DrahCir. It is a steampunk pirate fiction with historical elements. A fun romp through time & space, drawing on my life and long list of literary influences.

Keeping it direct, raw,  & spontaneous, with all the things in my thoughts influencing the outcome, I set out this morning, with acrylic paints, linen canvas, palette knives,  and brushes to paint a piece for a digital colorplate illustration for the novel (1of24 included). The sun peeking out the sky, the ocean, and a tallship in silhouette. Look carefully and you can add your story to the scene.

'Dusk' (Black Sails) 16"x10" acrylic on linen. (yr. 2011)

It became p'178 for the novel, thus acquired and in a private collection.

Art, Nature & Soul #11

Melancholia & Bliss, are the dual nature of emotion and being. We cannot as humans have one without the other. To have great sadness in our lives is to have had great joys,  to express some of those deep emotions are something I strive to convey in my work. 

I've been drip, splash & splattering for as long as I can remember. It is not merely an aesthetic or decorative expression for me, though, but more so, an emotive one. The drips of paint, a symbol of blood, of sweat, of tears, like a rainy day, in color, the duality of loss & gain, the persistence of memory, how we see it or what we make of it.

Most of my artworks of this nature and approach have been of a more abstract nature, although over the years I have begun to fuse the representational aspects of my surroundings and life into the process and images. This piece was created just after what seemed an epoch of my life, a turning point. Who I was, how I saw myself and defined myself had once again undergone some dramatic and severe changes. 

We were on vacation, along the Atlantic seaboard, it was the first one in a very long time. I mixed the abstract, the representatinal, the drips, splatters and splashes together, layered on canvas to convey my deep feelings of loss & isolation, of hope & love. Memories fade, but are conveyed and sounds, smells, & visuals are strong triggers to bring us back and humble us our being.

Enjoy, and feel free to comment or contact me for more information.  

'Silhouette on the Beach', 20x10, Acrylic on Canvas