INSPIRATION AND TECHNIQUES OF CONCEPTUAL REALIST PAINTER RICHARD B. HALL
Richard B. Hall creates work that is so realistic that, at times, viewers peer around the side of paintings to see if painted objects like sticky notes and tape have actually been affixed to the canvas. (They haven’t.)
Yet, almost paradoxically, the artist uses a host of abstract art techniques (from splashing paint on the canvas to spraying turpentine on wet paint), to create his representational paintings. It is this combination of techniques - along with storytelling and stagecraft - that makes Richard’s work beloved by collectors worldwide.
Behind every Richard B. Hall painting is a story - it might be a funny (or even slightly naughty!) tale, a slice of Americana, or a snapshot of days gone by - but every one of Richard’s works has a narrative.
Sometimes the title inspires the idea, leading the artist on multi-state buying trips to find the right antique props. Other times, it is a beautiful old object or quirky contemporary one that cries out to be memorialized.
Richard gravitates towards antiques as the stars of his stories, enjoying how the dents and scratches provide a layer of visual interest for the audience He also loves seeing the reactions viewers have to the vintage objects:
At every art show, he hears cries of “I had one of those when I was a kid!
After he has an idea for a story, Richard starts setting up the scene. He considers this part of the process just as important as the painting itself, because if the positioning, balance, and proportion of the setting is “off,” the viewer feels the discord.
Richard spends hours - and sometimes days - setting a scene. In addition to physically moving the objects around, he also uses pencil sketching and computer photo editing tools to try different configurations.
Once he likes the overall composition, the artist spends an equal amount of time with lighting since shadows are often as important in Richard’s compositions as the objects themselves. (Coffee Monster and Hi Yo Silver are good examples.)
He blends track lighting, spot lighting, and natural light to achieve his desired effects. Of course, the addition of lighting may prompt Richard to move the staging a bit and the whole process goes back and forth until he is satisfied.
The overriding aesthetic of Richard’s work is realism - he seeks to offer precise and accurate representations of the subjects he chooses to paint. As a result, he eschews brush strokes or other tactile adornment in his work; instead, opting for a very smooth, lustrous surface texture.
To achieve this result, he paints dozens of thin layers over the course of several weeks, letting each layer of oil paint dry before moving on.
It is in this layering process where Richard injects his knowledge of abstract art techniques. Whether it is the edge of razor, cotton swabs, wadded paper, or balls of tape, he uses a variety of tools to accomplish his storytelling.
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