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26 Paintings By My Dad Who Died Christmas Day 2013*
Left-brain leaning, I often wished I could see and experience the world through his mind and eyes and mind’s eye.
Of my father’s self-portraits, the one above is my favorite. It hangs in my brother Rob’s house in rural Washington, on the west side of the Cascades along the banks of the Skagit River where he and mom lived the last few years of their lives. They are buried close by. As Richard and Renée’s health declined, my brother and his family welcomed them into their home, Rob built a studio where dad could continue his painting, and Rob and Cheri gave them tender care in a rural setting rich with lush beauty.
Renée, Richard’s lifelong muse, is depicted in the portrait below, painted around the time of his self-portrait above. Glimpses of her beauty, personality, and character, and Richard’s interpretations of them, are revealed in art for which she was his fascination and a primary subject for over 60 years. She passed away on March 10, 2016, just shy of her 83rd birthday. See Portrait Of A Mother As An Artist’s Muse.