Robert W. Richards: Allure
Nov. 28th, 2008 11:33 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
reviews_and_ramblingsRobert W. Richards has a very particular style, he manages to give life to his painting using few colors but a wonderful use of light.
The New York multi-talent Robert W. Richards started his career as an illustrator for the fashion world; his striking talents delighted the fashion tsars in Paris and Rome. His clients included Yves St. Laurent, Valentino and Gaultier, among others. He drew portraits of Hollywood stars like Cher and Tony Curtis, and worked for years with gay publications like The Advocate and Mandate. Richards’ drawings possess a high degree of recognition, thus making this book one of the most interesting new publications on the gay book market.
"My drawings are my little films, plays, and novels, passports into an idealized world, a place where flaws are minimized and assets maximized. As a child I lived entirely in my fantasies, spending what little money I could come by on magazines and movies, trying to visualize myself as part of the swanky milieus portrayed in the photographs and films. I drew constantly and furtively, attempting to capture my naive and rather demented visions of fashion and high society on paper. When I transfered from a strict French-speaking, wrong-side-of-the-tracks, parochial school to a much larger public high school, where I was a complete alien, it occured to me that my skill might be of value. Maybe I could put all those years of drawing secretly, locked in my room, to distinguish myself from the pack and to achieve acceptance and, maybe, even some mild form of popularity. I volunteered for anything that involved art - prom commitees, the school newspaper, yearbooks - anything. And it worked. It gave me direction and eventually an escape hatch from the dreariness of my remote Maine hometown. In my senior year I started to panic. My family couldn't afford college and the thought of a life spent working in the local textile factory terrified me. I had to invent a way out."
In October 2006 Bruno Gmunder published an art book by Robert W. Richards, Allure:
http://www.amazon.com/Allure-Robert-W-Richards/dp/386187881X/
The New York multi-talent Robert W. Richards started his career as an illustrator for the fashion world; his striking talents delighted the fashion tsars in Paris and Rome. His clients included Yves St. Laurent, Valentino and Gaultier, among others. He drew portraits of Hollywood stars like Cher and Tony Curtis, and worked for years with gay publications like The Advocate and Mandate. Richards’ drawings possess a high degree of recognition, thus making this book one of the most interesting new publications on the gay book market.
"My drawings are my little films, plays, and novels, passports into an idealized world, a place where flaws are minimized and assets maximized. As a child I lived entirely in my fantasies, spending what little money I could come by on magazines and movies, trying to visualize myself as part of the swanky milieus portrayed in the photographs and films. I drew constantly and furtively, attempting to capture my naive and rather demented visions of fashion and high society on paper. When I transfered from a strict French-speaking, wrong-side-of-the-tracks, parochial school to a much larger public high school, where I was a complete alien, it occured to me that my skill might be of value. Maybe I could put all those years of drawing secretly, locked in my room, to distinguish myself from the pack and to achieve acceptance and, maybe, even some mild form of popularity. I volunteered for anything that involved art - prom commitees, the school newspaper, yearbooks - anything. And it worked. It gave me direction and eventually an escape hatch from the dreariness of my remote Maine hometown. In my senior year I started to panic. My family couldn't afford college and the thought of a life spent working in the local textile factory terrified me. I had to invent a way out."
In October 2006 Bruno Gmunder published an art book by Robert W. Richards, Allure:
http://www.amazon.com/Allure-Robert-W-Richards/dp/386187881X/
Robert W. Richards impresses with his unmistakable aesthetic. With just a few brushstrokes the artist commits his works to paper and they captivate through their simplicity. His male portraits are bursting with eroticism – the models are absolutely stunning. This is a collection of individual portraits, sexy poses and explicit scenes, but always with a touch of glamour. Richard is a designer through-and-through, and his talent of getting down to the basics is absolutely fabulous!
http://www.robertwrichardsart.com/
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Date: 2008-11-28 11:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-11-28 11:14 am (UTC)Elisa