'The Artist Shelf' - New York City 2014

Tomorrow myself and Boo will have arrived back to New York City for a one month stay!
It is going to be such a welcome and renewing break for us both.
We are so excited to get back there in advance of my 4th New York based solo show, which takes place on Thursday April 17th at O'Sullivan Antiques in lower Manhattan.

Then on Thursday 24th of April the 'Anam Cara Gallery' in Greenwich, Connecticut will host a reception and viewing of a selection of my landscape paintings. This showing has been entitled 'Beauty is no Stranger'. I will follow with more information on this event very soon.

The solo show in Manhattan is entitled 'The Artist's Shelf' and will feature twenty or so carefully arranged and observed still life paintings. Also, I am thrilled that Tenor and Composer John Des Marais, has composed an original score to be performed live on the opening night entitled 'Color Wheels'.

The work is going to look amazing and I cant wait to see it displayed in this long established antiques gallery space. Here is a link to their website http://www.osullivanantiques.com/newyork/

Details on the exhibit can also be found in the 'Exhibitions' section of my website.
http://www.richardhearns.com/?page_id=45

- Richard

Happy Birthday Father!

The unusual object to the right of this painting that looks somewhat like a Christmas tree is in fact a tail fin of a mortar bomb found in southern Lebanon by my father during his UN peacekeeping mission with the 43rd Irish Battalion in 1978. The object is composed of the tail fin of a mortar bomb and a piece of brass from a tank shell casing both found in his unit's area of operation.

The two fragments were then fashioned in the shape of a 'Cedar of Lebanon', the counties national symbol, and painted in the colours of the national flag of Lebanon, Red, White and Green. My father gave me this unusual ornament as a gift from my native country. To my mind the cedar symbolises the Lebanese resilience and ability to overcome the disaster of war.

In the bible Lebanon and it's majestic Cedar trees are mentioned over 70 times.
Psalm 92:12 'The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon';

My father joined the Irish Defence Forces on January 25th 1960, twenty years before the date of my birth. Today is his Seventy Third Birthday! Happy Birthday Dad.
You are a true inspiration and I love you very much.

- Richard

Arrangement in Red, White and Green - oil on linen canvas - 12"x10" - sold
Private Collection, Sydney, Australia.
To appear in my next New York Solo Show, ' The Artist's Shelf'.

Exploring the Transformative Qualities of Paint

This heading above just flashed across the screen of my consciousness while I was painting the other day.

Painting, given the chance I have found has the ability to transform and transcend both our inner and outer experiences. That's just one of the many reasons I believe acts as a catalyst for why I paint.
Other reasons include: because it excites me, because it's one of the only things I have always been good at. Because it never fully satisfies me!  Because it's never complete but does give me a feeling of unity - with nature, with life, with others. Because it opens doors for me. Because it brings me great joy! Because it remains my hope that through my work I communicate this joy to others.

The painting above entitled, Plum Line with Brush and Bowl will feature in my coming New York City solo exhibit 'The Artist's Shelf' which takes place at O'Sullivan Antiques on Thursday April 17th.

Plum Line with Brush and Bowl - oil on linen - 20"x20".

The Process and A Touch of Red

It's been such a beautiful day here in the Burren I decided to spend the whole day outdoors. Not with my easel mind you, but just out and about walking on the green roads and along the piers in the village.

I'd been keen to post to my blog this week, as my posts have been somewhat erratic since my last exhibit and I am determined to get back into a routine now.

The days and evenings over the past couple of weeks have been dedicated to creating a series of still life paintings that I hope to take to New York at the end of this month. I thought to let you see some of the processes I have developed around the creation of these pieces.

The paintings initial concept starts with identifying an object or objects which capture and communicate an idea to me. That idea may be a colour concept, ie. oranges and blues, or an idea about different or similar shapes that might sit together in a visually exciting way etc.

Once my concept is in place in my minds eye I then go about creating an interesting composition.
I achieve this by roughing in the objects in space and seeing how pleasing that is to my mind.
Once the placement is established I can concentrate on getting paint onto the canvas and pushing it around enough until I have the desired effect.

Here are some images to give you an idea of how pieces like this come to being.

A Touch of Red, (work in progress) - oil on linen canvas - 20"x20"

Pears & Palette

Pears & Palette - oil on linen canvas - 20 x 20 inches
Private Collection, New York City

Here is the first of some new works created that will feature in my coming New York City solo exhibit.

This show will be entitled ' The Artist's Shelf ' and it's theme will be predominantly still life based compositions created from direct observation.

I'm really excited and looking forward to returning to New York this year for the month of April.

Below an image of this 'triangular arrangement' in my studio corner.

This painting is reserved for my New York City exhibit.
For Pricing and Purchase, please contact info@richardhearns.com

Statement

SEPIL Commissioned Project 007 - The Terminal Processing Area.

During my last visit to the Corrib Natural Gas Project in December I was given the opportunity to explore the Terminal Processing Area for the first time.

With all the correct inductions, safety training and safety gear on, I stepped out into the vast terminal processing area guided by a member of the Operations Team who was extremely helpful in getting me access to great vistas in and around the terminal.

Currently the Terminal is operating at a very low pressure and the site is treated as if it was an operating plant.

The scale is immense, and the view from the methanol still was incredible. What was of most interest to me was how the plant is actually integrated inside a former Coillte forest resulting in a minimal impact on the landscape. Also the intricacies of the pipework and racks was astounding and I found it hard to believe they all have a very specific purpose!

A Birds Eye View.

Walking under miles of piping.

A view towards the methanol still.

 When I get back to my studio from New York in early May I am really looking forward to being able to dedicate more time to developing this commissioned project.

- Richard 

The Good by Brendan Kennelly, 1967

The good are vulnerable
As any bird in flight,
They do not think of safety,
Are blind to possible extinction
And when most vulnerable
Are most themselves.
The good are real as the sun,
Are best perceived through clouds
Of casual corruption
That cannot kill the luminous sufficiency
That shines on city, sea and wilderness,
Fastidiously revealing
One man to another,
Who yet will not accept
Responsibilities of light.
The good incline to praise,
To have the knack of seeing that
The best is not destroyed
Although forever threatened.
The good go naked in all weathers,
And by their nakedness rebuke
The small protective sanities
That hide men from themselves.
The good are difficult to see
Though open, rare, destructible;
Always, they retain a kind of youth,
The vulnerable grace
Of any bird in flight,
Content to be itself,
Accomplished master and potential victim,
Accepting what the earth or sky intends.
I think that I know one or two
Among my friends.

Friends Passed

Last week two very special human beings passed away.

Many of you will have heard of the Irish Artist, Patrick Scott.
Patrick and I were introduced first in 2008 by a mutual friend and art collector Liam Ayudhkij O'Keefe.
I had the chance to spend a day with Patrick and Liam in his studio that year and presented him with a catalogue of my work created in Thailand. Liam was responsible for sourcing and sending Patrick his treasured gold leaf for many years from Thailand where Liam was based. I remember Patrick as such a kind and warm gentleman who was lighthearted and full of love for his friends, his work and of course his cat who he adored!

I had the chance to see Patrick at work on some small drawings or watercolours and he showed me a beautiful limited edition book featuring prints of his work that had just been produced by Stoney Road Press in Dublin. Both Liam and Patrick have now passed away and I will miss their support, fun and friendship.
Patrick Scott who was a founding member of Aosdána, was conferred with the title of Saoi in 2007. Saoi is  the highest honour that can be bestowed upon an Irish Artist.

Patrick's work can be seen in many collections around the country.
I particularly like his 'sunburst series' a couple of which can be seen at the Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin.
Right now a retrospective of his achievements in art, in a career that spanned seventy five years, can be viewed at IMMA.

I was also deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Jimmy Murakami, who has been hailed as the founding father of Animation in Ireland. Over the years I had many chances to meet with Jimmy to paint together at the Royal Hibernian Academy. He was such a wonderful man and the more I learned of his life, background and the projects he was directly involved in the more astonished I was at the sheer breadth of his creative mind and capabilities.

Follow this link to just some of the award winning animations he directed and worked on.
They are just brilliant. At the bottom of this page is a really interesting and informative interview with Jimmy where you will hear of just a handful of the influential people that wanted to work with him - including David Bowie. In the background of the interview, partly visible, hangs a Patrick Scott painting!

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/rip/when-the-wind-blows-director-jimmy-murakami-rip-96140.html

Rest In Peace, Jimmy and Patrick.

A Virtual Tour

Jorgensen Fine Art - The Rural Idyll by Richard Hearns from Richard Hearns on Vimeo.

Just last night I put the finishing edits to this short Virtual Tour of my current one man exhibition at the Jorgensen Fine Art Gallery in Dublin.

I thought it would be a great way to document this solo show for my records, and a brilliant way to share the exhibit with all my friends and collectors both at home and abroad in the U.S and around the world who were unable attend the opening.

This exhibition 'The Rural Idyll' will now run until Friday 28th of February 2014 at Jorgensen Fine Art, 14 Hibernian Way, Dublin 2. You can call the gallery or email me for a catalogue, as well as view a selection of the works on display here on the gallery website - www.jorgensenfineart.com