J. Richard Secor: Old Native American Pot

About Me

I am continuously self-taught – meaning that my style is always evolving through curiosity, intense observation, sudden inspiration and experimentation.

My style is primarily impressionistic with a sense of what I call rusticity and looseness.

Plein air painting typically provides me with a more playful and semi abstract-impressionistic style than does a studio piece.

I have studied with a number of fine artists and I do study the techniques of painters whose work I admire. However I take these techniques and convert them into my artistic presentation within my own style.

I am a member of the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society (NOAPS); American Impressionist Society; New Mexico Plein Air Artist’s Society; The Art Center at Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, NM; and a Juried Member of Contemporary Water Media Forum and a Juried Artist for the 2010 Nomadas del Arte Exhibit traveling 6 Southwest States for a period of 12 months.

Quotes and Excerpts from Artists Whose Work and Artistic Approach I Admire

Guido Frick: "If you forget your emotions, then you end up with a copy of nature. But combine your visual impression with your emotional input, and you might have a chance to create a piece of art." Judie Wagner: "Use paint like you are a millionaire!" Laura Robb: "I never draw outlines of objects before starting to paint. I perceive and render subjects purely in terms of color and shape. I keep things accurate, yet unrecognizable, for as long as I can. Once you have enough information on your canvas that you can name the object, the wrong part of your brain starts trying to take over and run the show!" Laura Robb: "When setting up a still life, I try to get the objects to talk to each other and then I try to paint that converation." Laura Robb: "My work is always moving in the direction of leaving more of the detail out, as a way of making the real story of the painting more important." Kevin Mac Pherson: "Plein air painting is a method - it is not a sign of quality. A painting has to go beyond a picture, beyond the mere documentation of facts. It must have emotional ingredients." Malcolm Liepke: "I love dramatic gesture."

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Old Native American Pot - PAINTING DEMO

Normally I work with a palette knife due to arthritis in my hands but on occasion I work through the cramps and pain to paint with a large brush as I enjoy the process. 24 x 30 Chroma Interactive Acrylics wet into wet on gessoed MDF panel.

First I paint the shape of the pot using unbleached titanium white.
Then I start pushing some color around to get an idea of where I'm going with this piece

Next I start adding more color to the rest of the pot to define the shadow side and texture on the pot. I also start to further define the chips and cracks