Richard Smith: Travelling Man

Richard has collated works from his past 10 years of travel for his exhibition at Harrisons Art Gallery on Tauranga's 11th Avenue.
Up to 10 paintings cover scenes as diverse as Phortre village in Nepal to a Summer work from Florence in Italy.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing the paintings together in the gallery,” he says.

Richard in his Greerton studio.

The 'Travelling Man' exhibition also includes paintings of scenes and subjects from Vietnam, France, Germany, Australia, San Francisco and Austria.
"My wife and I have done some travelling but not as much as we'd like or other people have done.
"When I'm travelling I don't have any strict painting regime.
"I paint whatever I like and if it stands out as different then I'll include it,” says Richard.
There will also be two new works depicting New Zealand scenes.
Well-known for his detailed works of nautical and coastal subjects, 57-year-old Richard is keen to share recollections of his travels with others in visual form.
"I hope people are interested and there are more paintings of my travels to come,” he says of the acrylic on canvas work.

Fishing boats - Nice - France, acrylic on canvas

When I ask Richard about his fishing boat painting he says, “I've always been interested in boats and find these traditional double enders are both pretty and practical little craft'.”
"They are common in fishing, some might say tourist , ports along the Mediterranean Coast,” he says.
"When I was in Nice some of these boats were decorated with balloons in celebration of a summer music festival and in the evening they proceeded out beyond the harbour seawall and along the coast in a single file procession.”
Richard says the light in each country was quite different and that meant some unique works.
"I really enjoyed the trip last year to Asia.”
"Vietnam, in the north, was clear and brilliant yet Saigon in the south was hazy and the colours were quite different,” he says.
Richard says the exhibition is a good opportunity for him to take in new scenes and present them to his hometown.
'Travelling Man' will be on show from October 4 to 27.

For further enquiries you can contact Richard at richardsmith@hotmail.co.nz
by Pete Morris (October, 2012).
Pete Morris is an occasional painter and an art lover. He has a particular interest in promoting the visual arts in Tauranga and the Bay of Plenty.

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This page was archived at Perma CC in November of 2016: https://perma.cc/84PA-P59G