Secret Recording of an Elusive Art Master: Richard Grassi

Contemporary art does not have to be ugly or incomprehensible! And saying a piece of art is gorgeous does not indicate that it (or you) are vapid. Visit http://www.richardgrassi.com/ and you will see beautiful art that is neither trite nor depressing.

I need to be upfront. I'm a researcher & writer, not a visual artist; and I use words to talk, not paint. However, as all my friends know, I'm also a crazy art geek. I love hanging around galleries, shows, and museums almost as much as bookstores and libraries. There's something mesmerizing and exhilarating about seeing paintings and drawings that I don't often experience when reading novels. Perhaps great art stirs up powerful, archetypal memories in me hearkening back to the days of our distant past... to the magic of cave paintings... Who knows? (In my next life I wanna be an artist!)

Anyway, one of my favorite contemporary artists is Richard Grassi. I've followed his career for a while and I own several of his pieces. Now when I came across a quirky voice recording of him musing over Beauty, Joy and Kindness, I decided that it'd be fun to illustrate it with some images of his artwork. And this video is the result. I think it turned out all right, so I want to share it with you. Hope you like it. :) But do check out that link above, I think you'll be glad you did.

Cheers,
Janice Steen

P.S. Oh, and here's an interesting excerpt from one of his books that elaborates upon some of the things he said in the video: "I do not try to foist my own personal catharsis upon the viewers, nor do I moralize or editorialize by depicting war, atrocity, iniquity, victimization and other miserable facts of life. For although I acknowledge the popularity of those subjects, especially in art academia, I believe that the mass media currently provides a far more effective means of disseminating such information than does fine art. Moreover, looking too often at those images leaves me feeling depressed and/or angry because they engender bleak thoughts and a sense of hopelessness. And that is certainly not what I want my artwork to do. Rather, I wish to convey a spirit of optimism in my pictures by focusing on the beauty and dignity I see in the faces around me and on the magnificence and mystery I observe in the places I visit." -- (Richard Grassi, Sketches of the Cotswolds)

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Richard Grassi
• contemporary artwork
• contemporary art prints
• landscape artist
• modern art paintings
• artist prints
• modern artists
• women in art
• children in art
• George Gershwin
• Rhapsody in Blue

[OenitaBlairJones]

How lovely and peaceful. Thank you for sharing how you see the world with us all. May peace remain with you, always and forever.

[microworks2010]

Thanks for your hard work to compile this nice video clips. Well done.

[zakariaaulin]

Brilliant, Marvelous.Richard Grassi proved it again that a few strokes of pencil can express a lot and boldly than a hundred words.His works touched me very much.

[diansunarko]

Good work Janice, I think it is really beautiful video! I like it so much...

[billi1717]

really deep and atmospherical vide. i like the sound of reader's voice

[01winwin]

i am very much thanqfull to you Janice, you have shared a wonderfull and awesome pieces of art the video was amazing thanks for sharing once again

[Klayre]

"Contemporary art does not have to be ugly or incomprehensible!"

You're so right. :)

Loved the portraits; I wish I was that good at drawing..

Cheers

[ocubejan]

Nice video! I rarely see these days videos about art. Thanks for your work!

[MrBlackorchis]

Thanks for sharing beautiful video and beautiful artwork.

[kaka135]

Art and music is really a good combination. This video is really great, with so many beautiful artwork and also soothing music.

I've checked out Richard Grassi site, the artwork is so awesome!

Thanks for sharing such a good video and the website!