Please join us at the opening reception for Rick Stevens’ upcoming exhibition, In the Company of Trees.
Rick Stevens writes:
Natural landscapes have been the primary inspiration and reference for my paintings throughout the course of my career. The landscapes of the Great Lakes region, primarily Michigan, remains etched in my memories and continues to flavor my imagery even while living in Santa Fe surrounded by the iconic southwest landscape.
After 5 years of college, majoring in fine art, I became acquainted with the teachings of Swami Amar Jyoti, a spiritual teacher from India. At 23, I was very open to the eastern philosophy and mysticism contained in his teachings. While in that phase I made the decision to take an extended retreat into a secluded forest setting where I could make art and live a life of contemplation without a telephone, tv, or radio (it was before cell phones and computers). An evening’s entertainment might be to sit amongst the trees taking in the exquisite songs of Hermit thrushes as they echoed around the forest. For me it was not unlike attending a concert, while gazing at the muted sunset, bugs dancing in the leaf filtered sunlight.
My work goes from quite representational to abstract. This stylistic range provides me an opportunity to approach it from a variety of angles. Having an abstract painters eye when I’m painting landscapes helps in maintaining a freedom from stifling rules—those that you learn in order to break. Keeping a landscape painter’s eye when painting abstract imagery informs me how to manipulate space and evoke nature’s moods. Abstracted forms become semi-symbolic, references to natural phenomena are baked in from decades of depicting the landscape. Shapes, colors, textures, and even how the paint is applied is driven by the desire to capture certain effects that I’ve witnessed over the years. At other times, something specific such as how the fading light casts a hue over a scene can provide the sense of mystery that I yearn for. There is a Japanese word; “Komorebi” which describes the phenomenon of sunlight filtering through leaves and the patterns it creates as it falls on trees and surfaces. It is associated with tranquility, beauty, and a sense of harmony for the one experiencing it. I value such moments and consider them an investment in my general well-being.
My studio is forever filled with paintings in process. What may seem chaotic, I find to be an organic flow. To work the oils in layers, the drying time alone is a good reason for setting aside one painting to work on another. Meanwhile, the time away from the work proves valuable when I see it with fresh eyes after some time away from it. Detachment is a requirement to see things for what they are, as the artistic vision is always compromised by the ability to execute it. The process encompasses everyday lessons in how to respond to what is there, as well as what is in the imagination.
