I paint.

I paint for a living, I paint for fun, I paint away pain, I paint to explain, I paint away the past, I paint a new future, I paint for those who have gone, I paint with a can, I paint with my hands, I paint out of love, I paint 'cause I can.

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The New Madness @ BLAST Gallery in Teaneck!

So, I'll be bringing "The New Madness" to the BLAST Gallery in Teaneck on Saturday, August 6th!
This is a chance for people to see what I'm working on now, with a little bit of the past work thrown in to serve as a reference point. The new madness picks up where the old madness left off, amidst a sea of robots and children, and takes us to the city... Let's see, what happens as we get older?... The world becomes a slightly darker place, and all the things we used to hold dear tend to drift further from us... The New Madness is all about the search for what we had, back when all was well, and the search for the things we never knew we needed until now...

Enjoy... See you there!

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Hope With Heart Prints

This month, both of these prints will be on sale for $40 each, with all proceeds going to Hope With Heart, a camp for kids with heart conditions.  I'm doing this in memory of Nick Gretina, my best friend, who passed away due to his complications with his heart on July 25, 2005.

Nick called himself my "Biggest Fan," and always pushed me to do my work, even when I was about to throw in the towel more than a few times.  Between him and my wife, Lauren, I had the all the motivation I needed to do what I do.  Even though he is gone, his spirit still pushes me forward, and I feel like he's influenced a great deal of my artwork for the last six years...

Back in 2000, Nick got me involved in Hope With Heart.  I learned during that first summer the impact that camp had on Nick when he was a camper there, and how good it felt to be a counselor, giving guidance to the next generation of kids who had to carry the burden of a "special heart."  As weak as their physical hearts were, these kids taught me how strong a spirit can be.  I got addicted to the camp, and all its inner workings, and I came back year after year to be a counselor to the next group.  These days, I'm not a counselor anymore, but I do what I can to help from time to time, passing on word about the camp, and trying to raise funds.

So this is for Nick, and all the campers and counselors at Hope With Heart, the place where I spent my last week in August for 7 years, being a counselor to the greatest and bravest kids on the planet, 4 of those along side Nicky...

So, if you have the means, purchase a print by emailing me at rLoArtwork@gmail.com for more details, and know that even the smallest contribution goes a long way, making sure there is a great place for these kids to go every summer...

Thanks,

~Rich

Snowballing or Evolving?

I'm still working on this one, and I'm using a similar technique to the one I used on "Going Home." I'm glad I started out so bright with this one, because now I have room to go darker... It's been back-to-basics on this one in a lot of ways, and exploratory in a lot of ways as well... I'm not going to rush this one out... Just taking my time...

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Heritage

I've never done a straight-up homage to my Puerto Rican roots. I didn't start out doing that here, but it ended up that way.

This isn't the finished product, but I wanted to take a second to think about that. I never take my culture for granted, and Lord knows that my colors have always been inspired by the homes of Humacao, where my father's family is from, but I have never painted an image that says "Yo soy Puertorriqueño..." But I am.

Maybe it's a matter of being known as "Latino artist Richard Lopez" (even though there already is a Richard Lopez- my second cousin, Latino artist Richard Lopez...). I'd rather be known first for my work, and second for my race.

But I am making this painting in honor of my family, my heart, and all those who came before me.

So there's that.

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"Going Home"

Today I finished a piece that I have been working in for a month or 2. It started out with me just going nuts with color, spattering blues, pinks, and greens all over the place. Then I prepainted a bunch of kraft paper with different hues, cutting out cloud shapes, and placing them in a very weighted fashion, mostly on the bottom left. Then I began work on subtracting the weight from that corner, and bringing the focus to the top right. Then I let it sit. I let the 3/4 finished painting sit in the corner of my office for almost a month. I did about 10 paintings before I came back to it this morning. I added 3 angels. Done.

Why did I wait a whole month to paint 3 angels? I dunno.

It's all about timing I guess.

3 weeks ago it may have been a 7-armed robot...

It's all about timing.

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Leaving it as is.

Sometimes it's hard to leave things be, and not over work them. This is one of those times where I have to stop myself, before I make something needlessly busy. I'm still going to call this one unfinished, but I'll display it anyway, because I'm pleased with it... For now...

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