Bitter Sweet

Bitter Sweet with Lemon, Silver Jug and Spoon - oil on canvas - 12"x12" - sold

Arrived back to Dublin Yesterday from Westport town in Co. Mayo.
My show opened on Thursday last, and has gotten off to a great start.
The opening night was a packed house.

Thanks to all who came along to the Official Opening, especially to those who traveled distances to celebrate the launch with me.
I was really taken with all the beautiful comments left in the visitors book.

The show has now been extended into October, so if any of you are in the west do pop into see the Works on display. The Gallery opens Monday to Saturday - 10am to 6pm.

Recieved some really great news last week while in Mayo.
I have been accepted to be Artist in residence at the Custom House Studios which are situated on the beautiful Westport Quay.

Looking forward now to getting organized and ready to go back West to work for the winter months.

Best wishes,
Richard

The Golden Oil Bottle

The Golden Oil Bottle (Still Life with the Artist's materials) - oil on canvas - 12"x10" - sold

Over the last three days or so I have been working on hanging my exhibition at the High Tide Gallery Boutique in Westport town in Co. Mayo. Hanging a show is always a mammoth task with new problems to solve in each new space but I am delighted to say that the show and Works look wonderful.

People are traveling for all over to attend the launch tonight.

Looking forward to see how all the Work is received - the last two days of preview have been really good with lots of interest and positive feedback.

Please wish me good luck tonight and thank you for all so much for your comments,emails and support during the creation of this body of Work - Richard

Farmers Market Arrangement

Farmers Market Arrangement - oil on canvas - 12"x12" - sold

Really enjoyed the concept I followed in creating this piece. My wife and I set up these various objects after a trip to the local farmers market. My concepts were 'light and shade', as in how much light verses shade and how I might frame the composition using these elements, and then 'think to thin' - relating to the amount of texture used at center of interest to how the light and paint could become less as the picture reads across the canvas.

Can't wait to hang this piece at the upcoming show along with all the other Works created.

The show will open this day week - Thursday the 16th of September at 7pm at the High Tide Gallery on James Street, Westport Town, Co. Mayo.

If you are unable to come along to the show you can reserve any of the available pieces to feature in the show by contacting me through my blog on facebook or by email at info@richardhearns.com

Caravaggio's Dagger

Caravaggio's Dagger - oil on canvas - 12"x10" - sold

For me Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio is one of the very greatest painters of all time. I find his works so arresting and can only imagine how his Art was received by the people who commissioned him and the general public at that time.

He worked in a very direct manner 'eyeballing' his subject and then attacking the canvas with paint - absolutely no preliminary drawing was used as a guide - just like the way I love to work.

It was not only his painting methods that were controversial. He was known to always carry with him a sword and a dagger and has been attributed to at least two murders and numerous violent attacks!

This piece was a dream to make. I worked with a limited palette creating as much atmosphere as possible out of these few subjects. The dagger, leafs and colouring remind me of a Caravaggio.

Hope you like it too. - Richard

To get pricing and or reserve this Art Work or any other paintings to feature in my upcoming exhibit 'Objects of Knowledge' you can contact me through my blog on facebook or by email at info@richardhearns.com

Daisy Water

Daisy Water - oil on canvas - 12"x9" - sold

To get pricing and reserve this Art Work or any other paintings to feature in my upcoming exhibit 'Objects of Knowledge' you can contact me through my blog on facebook or by email at info@richardhearns.com

Classic Still Life with Port Bottle and Drapery

Classic Still Life with Port Bottle and Drapery - oil on canvas - 12"x9" - sold

(tribute to Chardin and Leffel) (this painting was created after the original painting entitled 'Texture and Light' by David Leffel.(amended 24th Feb 2014) 

The Golden Pear

The Golden Pear - oil on canvas - 24"x22" - sold

(composition in red and green)

My initial concept for the piece was to paint in reds and greens creating as much atmosphere as possible.

I surrounded the main focal points in strong colour notes and light which in turn gradually moves to shadow as the painting reads from left to right. I really enjoyed the challenge of making the background including some branch and leave shapes appear in the right place by over working in glazes to control the colour temperature.

Any available works can be reserved in advance of my upcoming one man show by contacting me through my blog, on facebook or by email at info@richardhearns.com

Father's Flowers

Father's Flowers - oil on canvas - 24"x18" - sold

Am very fond of this piece as I can remember laying in the shapes and colours effortlessly in sequence.

All these classical still life paintings I am creating are in a sense very abstract as regards my application of paint.

The closer you are to the piece the more you can see and appreciate the piece on a very abstract level - as just dabs of colour, scratches and drips. This way of working really is so satisfying as I am no longer painting objects but 'painting paint itself' and really learning to enjoy the stuff of paint and all its various attributes.

On this day two weeks - Thursday 16th September - my latest solo exhibition of Works will open in the High Tide Gallery on James Street, Westport town, Co. Mayo .

Am really looking forward to getting up there to hang the show with the owners and curators of the gallery, Michael and Mary Cadden.

To preview a selection of Works for this upcoming show follow this link below to my website:

'Objects of Knowledge'.

Any available Works can be reserved in advance of this show by contacting me through my blog, on facebook or email me at info@richardhearns.com

Still Life with Brushes

Still Life with Brushes - oil on canvas - 24"x22" - sold

(tribute to Rembrandt and Leffel) (after the painting 'Composition with Paint Brushes' by David Leffel)
Amended 24th Feb 2014.

For the last two and a half months I have been working here in the Burren by day out in the landscape, creating loose, gestural, plein air 'sketches in oil', and then in the evening time setting up and painting large still life paintings in the studio.

Working this way allows me to loosen and warm up during the day as regards my seeing, brush strokes, and colour mixing while at the same time giving me this vital energy and experience - coming from a sense of being dispatched a remote location which I feel is so vital to an Artist's output. After all, all an artist can do is to bring his life experience to a piece - that's all he has.

There are myriad different ways to feed that experience but for me being out in the landscape is the most informative.

This is the second of my paintings to be posted here on my blog for my upcoming solo show 'Objects of Knowledge'.

To reserve any of these pieces before the shows preview and official opening you can contact me here through the blog, by email or on facebook.

"Objects of Knowledge' - Exhibition Notice

Still Life with Silver and Apples - oil on canvas - 24"x 22" - sold

(tribute to Rembrandt and Kreutz) (after an original painting by Gregg Kreutz) Amended 24th Feb 2014.

Follow this link to see a sneak preview of a selection of Works to appear in my next one man show entitled - 'Objects of Knowledge'.

You can get pricing and reserve any of the available pieces before the commencement of the show by contacting me at info@richardhearns.com or by reply to me through this blog group address or on facebook.

This exhibition of my most recent paintings Officially Opens three weeks from today on Thursday 16th of September 2010 at the High Tide Gallery, James Street, Co. Mayo.

The show will comprise of both large and small observational still life paintings created over the past 6 months along with groupings of my daily sketches in oil.

These Still Life paintings are charged, atmospheric and mysterious, communicating form, light, tone and colour relationships combined with beautiful application in paint.

Hope you enjoy browsing through this Work on my Website. www.richardhearns.com

- Richard