This article on Kirk Richards was published by Meridan Magazine.

http://www.meridianmagazine.com/arts/050613richards.html

By Steevun Lemon
Hailed as a "new master" by his peers, J. Kirk Richards is becoming a legend in his own time. Admirers are astonished by his expressive realism, elegant composition, and brilliant representation of light in primarily Judeo-Christian themes. Richards studied with nationally acclaimed artists James Christenson, Wulf Barsh, Bruce Smith, and Swiss born symbolist painter, Patrick Denovas.

Richards attributes some of his classical "Old Master" style to a two year hiatus from college in Rome, L'Aquila and on the island of Sardinia in Italy. While in Italy, the artist observed, absorbed, and utilized every opportunity to visit museums such as the Vatican which houses the largest collection of art in the world. Richards' work can be found in public and private collections across the country.

Son of Man

When did you start painting?
I started oil painting in college, but I have studied art since I was a kid. I took classes in high school, but decided when I went to college that I should study something that would make a living. I was going to be a zoologist of some sort, but then I took a figure drawing class and I knew that was it.

Who was your first mentor?
There was a man who had been a high school art teacher in Los Angeles named, Clayton Williams. He retired and moved to Orem. I would go up to his house and he taught me. I remember he always gave me pineapple juice, funny the things we remember. Clayton came from a more metropolitan view of life than I did. He had seen so many things that he had a sense of ascetics. He told me time and time again, “If it looks ugly, it is.” I try to keep that in mind when I paint.

Mother and Child

Were there any other mentors?
Patrick Devonas, a Swiss convert to the Church, taught me classical realism. I took a bus back to the New Jersey to see him. Have you seen the movie, Karate Kid? Patrick was like the Mr. Miyagi character. We worked on his house half the day, and then he taught me the other half.
Did you learn any karate?
[Laughing] No karate, but I did built a chicken coop.
Was it worth it?
Definitely.

Suffer the Childlren

Who is your greatest inspiration?
Right now it is a French artist named, Bastien-Lepage. My favorite artists are those from the late eighteen hundreds.  They may have been the last generation entirely trained in the classic techniques, but they adapted to the modernism of their day. It can be all too easy to be creative without the training.

What do you mean by classical training?
In the past artists were able to do narrative pieces and take elements from a variety of sources and then successfully put them together into a unified painting. Some of that skill has been lost because photography makes it easy to take short cuts. I have to be careful and force myself to be stubborn on composition or I can fall into the trap of figurative still life. In other words, if it is not right in front of me, then I cannot create it. If I want to do flying angels, for example, I am stuck because I cannot depend upon a model to fill the gap.

If you look at the old masters like Rembrandt and Michelangelo, they have both abstract and realist figures in their paintings. They combine the two extremes in an amazing way.

Family Prayer

Was there anyone else that influenced you?
I had a teacher at BYU, Bruce Smith, who tempered my classical training with more contemporary approaches to painting. He showed me that composition and color are as important as technique.

How do you know when you have been successful?
I guess, when I am happy with the painting I consider that successful. Hopefully I am critical enough to put out good work even when I am in a hurry. Often, I have to let go of a painting before I am happy with it because of the practical pressures of making a living. But I am not sure that you are ever ready to let go of a painting. You can always find something that you want to change. But I get hope when I see the painting in someone’s house a couple of years later and think, “Hey, I did an ok job on that. It isn’t too bad.” One thing I have learned is that you certainly cannot pay too much attention to what others say. One of the great things about art is that everyone responses differently to each image. So a great painting will not move one person while it will move another person. You learn who to listen to if you are looking for criticism. Even with that, I have people who love some of my paintings but say, “That painting will never sell.” You just never can tell how each piece will influence others.

What draws you to paint religious subjects?
I have always fallen back on the thirteenth Article of Faith that talks of seeking after anything that is lovely or of good report. That leaves it wide open to appreciate so many beautiful things in the world. I am also drawn to the symbolic properties of art. It conveys through metaphor and that is how the Lord teaches us. Each time we look at a piece we can gain more and deeper insights. I hope that others will see beyond the literal images in my work and glean some deeper principle.

Harvest

How do you research the paintings?
I start with a loose sketch and then I grid it out full scale on the final piece. One of the reasons I go straight to the painting is to keep the composition undecided until I get the colors and values in. I get the color and values up as fast a possible then gradually move into the details of composition. Some times I use photographs for reference of lighting and structure. I rarely follow the photos, unless the painting is more realistic. I use a lot of collage like building up paper and acrylic and those kinds of things. Then I do the oil painting over that. I like to do that because it brings three dimensional allusion into a two dimensional space. I love the combination, sort of like Klemp did in the Ascension. Some of my favorite paintings use this technique. It says this is a painting plus it is something else.

What was the first painting you ever sold?
I sold a little piece of a mother and child at ReparteeGallery for $300 …framed. Then I sold the same painting unframed in a different color shortly after.

What was the first print you published?
I did a little rose and woman holding a rose. Nice little print, I sold some and kept a few. My earliest prints are the Last Supper and Cherubim and the Flaming Sword. They are still some of the best sellers.

Cherubim and the Flaming Sword

How has the LDS art market changed?
There are many different LDS markets. The one that most people are familiar with is what they see in Deseret Book, but that is a very small portion of the spectrum. There are so many LDS artists that rarely sell a painting in areas with predominantly LDS populations. Some of my heroes like James Christensen are more visible to the traditional LDS art buyer. But other artists like Mike Workman and Gary Smith are not easily recognized because they are not in Deseret Book. The market is wide open; you can do so many things. You can make a living doing things that others told you were impossible even a few years ago. I do a show in Tennessee of religious art each year. Many of the paintings are more symbolic in their spiritual depictions, but many of these collectors are not LDS, but they love the pieces. I like that. One of the great things about the world today is that it is smaller. We felt in the past like we were isolated as a church. We saw the values that the media put up and felt like we were alone. Now, through the internet and other non-mainstream media we can see there are many Christians in the world who are interested in the values and paintings that LDS artists are producing.

What is your favorite painting you have done?
Still a tie between the two I mentioned earlier, the Last Supper and Cherubim and the Flaming Sword. It was while painting those pieces that I felt like my world came together. It seemed my message was fresh and the skills started to take shape. I was finally able to say in the paint what I saw in my mind. I didn’t have to reinvent myself then, I just was.

Last Supper

Are you reinventing yourself now?
I think so. I think we all are. In an attempt to not get backed into a corner, I have always maintained a number of styles. Those styles develop and weave in and out.

What are those styles?
One is Naturalism, where you paint realistically what you are looking at. There is Classical Realism where you stylize and temper realism with classical elements. Roman faces, et cetera. Then Modernism where things are flat, much less related to realism. Not visual reference involved. Gesture is more important than the figure and texture more important than detail. Then I mix them, and see where they meet in the middle. Other times I will follow only one of those styles. I do that because it helps to continually reinvent the paintings and me as an artist. It helps me not get into a rut. Recently I started doing a set of landscapes. Not a career change, just wanted to do it, I wanted try something new. I get bored easily, so it helps to try something different. Brian Kershisnik once told me to do things that keep painting fun. I use that as a way of determining what to do.

The Five Prepared

What do the next ten years hold for you?
Hopefully I will get a chance to do some really large scale paintings. I would love to do large multiple figured paintings. I love the monumental feel of large paintings, being overwhelmed by not only composition and color, but also by the sheer size. The other reason is that it is so hard to paint little people with little faces. I would love to do grand expressions like the great painters. Maybe that means doing public work or work for church buildings. Not necessarily a mural, but maybe. Especially if there is a temple built in Italy. I would love to be involved in that.

What will people say about Kirk Richards 50 years from now?
I hope they say that…I don’t know. I hope that I will have done enough great pieces that they are worth remembering. Not only regionally, but beyond.

Why is it important to be remembered?
That is a good question … uhh, maybe it is not worth being remembered. Maybe that shouldn’t be a motivation. I just think of the amazing painters from the past and how they have influenced me and continue to influence me. I just want people to be able to see the images and be able to appreciate them when I am gone.

Rose