I love the spirit; the craft and care, the intelligence, the
beauty within the art of Richard Schmidt. Schmidt has long been a creator of
landscapes, architectural renderings, portraits, nature studies and on and on. There
is little that Schmidt hasn’t covered and mastered. This artist/educator,
painter and author is among the best in the current market and art scene. His works
are academic with a very free y style. His
works are not challenging but they are a joy to behold and savor as a painterly
delicacy. Many of Schmidt’s works are seasonal and are of a special interest at
this time of year.
The paintings of Richard Schmidt are tonally much in line
with another popular American artists; Andrew Wyeth. Wyeth frequently painted
images of late fall and winter themes. Schmidt is drawn to the same. A portfolio
of Schmidt’s best are here for viewing and presented as a holiday sharing. Like
many great painters the works speak most eloquently for themselves and explanations
can cause some distraction and are hardly necessary. Please enjoy and feel the
warmth of heart that inhabits these winter works.
There are many that propose that art has to be unsettling,
disturbing, as it shatters every preconceived notion. That is wonderful in
concept but it is not a prerequisite. In my mind there are no absolutes in the
creation or appreciation of art. That is the true greatness found in the
pursuit of truth, beauty or the absurd. Art can be for the shock of newness but
it can also be moving in the familiar and possess a Zen oneness with the
sublime. Schmidt is of the later; a celebration of life and sight.
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| "In the Spirit of Christmas" |
