Process, Creative Sparks and The Science of Art
By Glen Harvey, former client and friend
I’ve known Rich since the early 1990s and, when we both took a step back from the corporate world in 2010, began to regularly catch up to share where fate was taking us. From then to this day I have been amazed by the dedication, progress and resilience he has brought to his vocation. This is demonstrated not only in his works, but by the incredible detailed journals and workbooks he has created to both document his journey, and to build his knowledge and working process.
Many view process as a word firmly in the domain of the business, manufacturing or scientific worlds – surely a constraint to the unfettered imagination of the world of art?
Process however, is merely the pathway to an objective. Art itself has objectives – one being to express or engage with the human experience. This is difficult to achieve and requires not only trial and error, but also an understanding of the tools, mindset and environment required to facilitate both the hard graft and the creative sparks.
Rich has used process to develop an acute self awareness that allows him to understand, and continuously refine his creative pathways. The universal everyday experience conveyed in his chosen theme of “INTIMISM” is extremely hard to get right and Rich’s developmental process allows him to achieve this through a unique layering of highly structured linear elements with unstructured flowing forms.
Perhaps art is a science?