By Shya Beth
In Balance — 36 x 48 Oil
Richard Rodriguez says his paintings walk the path between memories and dreams, but he doesn’t want to walk into the future looking backwards. He is acutely aware of that contrast: between contemporary and traditional painting styles, and the rapidly changing landscape of his home state of Colorado.
Inspired by old photographs and magazines etched with fold lines and worn edges, Richard finds himself returning to images that are peaceful. Whether looking at the past or an incomplete vision of peace in the future, it’s a dream realized on canvas. The scene might be a building, a horse or a natural landscape, and through that, Richard paints the peace he sees in the subject. It’s not always completely clear, but it’s a direction.
“I use the shapes we see in contemporary work and marry them with traditional painting methods,” he said. “There’s a push and pull between the two styles in each painting that creates a very dynamic piece, and you can follow that process through layers of paint. There’s tension and peace between the two styles that accentuates the differences between them and their need for one another.”
Simply put, Richard paints what’s etched in his memory of the landscapes he grew up with. Fragments of his own experiences become reminiscent—familiar, even—for the viewer. Considered a visual representation of specific moments in time, each painting captures the essence of a memory and is constructed and deconstructed to resemble our memories and dreams.
A Life Painted With Purpose
“I hope to engage viewers in the act of remembering and creating their own personal narratives within the artwork,” he said. There’s a bit of nostalgia to it, as Colorado has changed considerably over the past few decades. Richard grew up surrounded by agriculture, pastures, farms and ranches. In a matter of minutes, you could be out in the “wilderness.” He travels back in time to relive those memories every time he picks up a brush to bring them back to life.
In addition to brushes, palette knives, scrapers and squeegees are within arm’s reach of Richard and his easel at any given time. Using various tools to create shapes and textures opens the door to adding expression in a way that a brush can’t, and allows for that wild and untamed emotion to be conveyed across the canvas in an unrepeatable way.
Painting is not Richard’s only passion. An accomplished horse trainer and architect, graduating from the University of Colorado in 1989, he loves to communicate with horses and listen to how they communicate back. “I have three horses with me at my small ranch. Two are Quarter Horses, and the third is a Mountain Pleasure filly. I’ve had my Quarter Horse gelding for 19 years and counting! My other two have been rescued from Colorado Horse Rescue (CHR). Another interest of mine that I have combined with my painting is that of supporting horses in need, and I recently collaborated on a project with CHR. We created a short video documentary of their rescue horses and the subsequent paintings that emerged from my visit to their facility, which can be seen on their YouTube channel.
“CHR, founded in 1986 by friends Sharon Jackson and Jill Pratt, has made it their mission to reimagine, realize and resource safe solutions for every horse,” Richard continued, “and has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception. The video we created was a great success, and I would like to continue creating videos and subsequent paintings that increase awareness for these necessary causes.”
Broken Solace — 14 x 18 Oil
Continuing His Journey
The Art Students League of Denver shaped Richard as a painter in 2017, when he studied with accomplished professional artists who emphasized drawing and value relationships. “Through lasting relationships with my teachers and peers, I continue to learn and grow as a painter, and this helps me through my own teaching. Teaching others helps me to break down the processes in creating a painting. Through my students, I see relationships between colors, shapes and values that inspire me because they approach the canvas and their composition completely differently than I would. Their approach is fresh and unbridled by rules and expectations.”
Occasionally, Richard gets the opportunity to help his neighbor move their cattle from summer to winter pastures. Riding the open country surrounding the Colorado foothills feeds both the mind and the soul, and inspires the next painting series from horseback. Richard also plans to compete with his Quarter Horse mare, Trinity, in the Ranch Pleasure division in a few local shows. If Richard isn’t at the easel, he’ll be where the horses are!
For more information, visit rmrstudio.net
