Born and raised in New York City, I began painting in oils when I was nine years old.
I was fascinated by the smell of oil paint as well as the intensity of its color compared to water based paints available in the mid 1950s. I suppose my first ‘teachers’ were Winky Dink in the early 50’s and Jon Nagy, both on black and white TV.

I became a more serious student by attending the High School of Art and Design, Pratt Institute and The Art Students League.

My early works in my student days were mostly surrealistic and abstractions, until I happened upon a retrospective of the ‘New York School’ painters of the 1940s and 1950s at the Whitney Museum in the mid 1960s. I was forever changed by that show, all of which I considered to be non-representational painting.

I moved from NYC to the Hudson Valley region of New York in the late 1960s. I had achieved some success in the NYC area and was able to continue to work in my new environment. That changed over time as other aspects of life became more preoccupying and I had to lay aside the day-to-day painting that had so contented me. Additionally I was steadily losing my hearing due to a hereditary condition until I became virtually deaf. This tended to cause me to withdraw somewhat and to explore options that would enable me to use what remained of my hearing as well as utilize prosthetic options, a cochlear implant, for example.

Some eight years ago I was able to again return to painting full time. Three years ago I published my website, which is annually updated with the works of the previous year.
I have been able to find some success with those who appreciate non-representational art and are not afraid of color, and have works in a number of private collections.

Throughout my career I have been using non-representational concepts of form and color to create emotional and dramatic expressions which I consider to be romantic in character. I use the term Non-representational Romanticism to describe my work. There is also some degree of eroticism in my work, which I consider another romantic characteristic.

 

I think of my work as exciting visual expressions that can change with every viewing as forms, textures and color ‘slip’ from one area to another in the viewer’s experience. Called “slippery space” by one collector, ideally what you visually experience in my work in the morning may not be what you experience in the evening.

I am always seeking new venues and representation to show and sell my work.

I welcome your comments and interest and I encourage you to contact me by email.

Richard W. Forster