22 x 10″ Acrylic and ink on canvas
He knew fall was right around the corner – crisp mornings attested to that. Brightly colored summer fruits would soon come to an end, and squashes of all sorts of earthy tones would make their way to center stage. A hearty fall harvest would bring about simmering stews – the scents of which would waft out slightly cracked windows. As the quiet bird pedaled home, enjoying the last days of summer, he was comforted by such thoughts.
18 x 24″ Acrylic on canvas
The piece has gained some wheels! It isn’t quite finished yet, but is getting closer. I don’t think I’m going to do a whole lot more to it, but I might add a few more wheels and clean some edges up a bit. A few more highlights and shadows will also get thrown in the mix.
18 x 24″ Acrylic on canvas
I’ve got a long, long way to go before this piece is done. Eventually though, it will be bike inspired art that will hang happily in an office .
Originally I had planned for the base composition to be comprised of many, many rectangular shapes (you can still see some of the lines which I might still include,) but as I got going I realized I wanted to incorporate the green/blue wash. I worked backwards and had to tape off all of my blocks and then add the wash. Needless to my order of operations got all outta whack, but it still works just fine.
10.25 x 24.5″ Acrylic and ink on board
Take off and landing were a bit tricky, but well worth it, she thought. The freedom of the open skies and ability to make anywhere her destination was incredibly fulfilling. Not to mention the fact that the little ones must be getting a feel for riding. As she pedaled through the bright blue sky, she looked about and wondered what flight of fancy awaited her next.
~12 x 24″, acrylic and pierced paper on wood panel
A few months back I created a pierced paper piece based on a story I heard regarding the relationship between the moon’s cycle and eggs hatching. I liked the piece, but the paper was a dull, brownish-grey and it always seemed a bit drab. I decided I’d add some acrylic paint and turn it into something I was more excited about. This not-at-all drab piece is the result. I haven’t determined if I am going to keep the central pierced paper as-is or add a bit of blue, but overall I’m happy with it.
30 x 10″ Acrylic and ink on canvas
She’d started off jumping
Through obstacles
Always exhausted but able
To get through
The brush
And the muck
Bogged down
Worn out
Until one day
She
Couldn’t
20 x 36″ Acrylic and ink on canvas
I had another request to create more bird and bike pieces. This one is nearly done – a few tweaks to the goggles, maybe an addition of an aviator’s hat and perhaps a glaze of color are needed yet.
~16 x 20″ Acrylic on canvas
I finally finished up what I have decided is the most non-traditional, traditional portrait I have ever done (not that I do a ton of portraits, but nonetheless.) After much contemplation I opted to stick with the flat, primary colored background. It feels unexpected and a bit uncomfortable to me, which I really like. I’m hoping Dave will like the choice as well. I also chose to include another goat in the piece. His placement and cropping makes it appear as though he kind of walked in, in the middle of the painting. The piece feels pretty unique in both subject matter and approach, which always makes me happy.
Work in Progress
I have to say I think this is one of the most interesting requests for a portrait I’ve ever had. I still have a lot of work left on it – including adding a horn and making some decisions regarding colors. Because it isn’t your traditional portrait, I’m leaning toward using some really bright colors in the back and foregrounds (the yellow and bright green are my current experiments.) We’ll see if I continue down that road or not.
Work in progress
I’ve started another commission that is a bit out of my wheelhouse. I continue to be surprised by how much I enjoy these more realist (as realistic as I get anyway) projects. They force me to slow down a bit and evaluate things more closely while simultaneously working to stay true to my painting style.
Initial sketch
Stage one
Micah Richardson 