The George G. Matthews Collection of Western Art

Page 248

RICHARD D. THOMAS 1939 - 2019 Richard D. Thomas grew up in the small town of Avenal, in the San Joaquin Valley of California. Following high school Thomas attended the Arizona State University. By the time he finished college the Viet Nam War was ramping up, so Thomas enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1962, serving in Vietnam in 1965. Following his service in the Marine Corps, Thomas worked for many years for a high-tech defense contractor and painted as a hobby. When his marriage ended and the plant he worked in closed, Thomas decided to paint full-time, spending years refining his technique and showing his work in hotels, shopping malls, and at convention centers.

his work, becoming a part of what he painted on the canvas, saying, “A painting is an expression of what goes on around an artist. You can’t hide anything. You’re in there.” As an impressionist, the challenge for Thomas was to convey to the viewer the reality of the feeling of being there, but not the precise detail. “I really like to hear people say, ‘I feel like I’ve been there.’” For Thomas that meant less can be more and that it was important to know when to stop. “You have to bring a painting to the extent your personality and temperament will allow and learn when to stop. You don’t want to make it too pretty.”

Living for more than two decades in Colorado and later in Montana, Thomas was surrounded by many inspirational vistas from which he drew inspiration. He tended to paint plein air, spending a lot time observing his surroundings, often including local ranchers in his paintings. He also carefully researched his subjects and used photographs for reference. However, as he said, “I pretty much paint only that which I can experience myself.” He immersed himself in

Apparently, the natural beauty of the West and the challenge of conveying the reality of the feeling of being there, without allowing the detail to detract from that impression, was a lifelong quest for Thomas. He described his process this way, “There is always something to learn...there is no final attainable goal in art. It’s always just a little out of reach, just enough to keep you going.”

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Hubert Wackermann

2min
pages 254-259

Richard D. Thomas

2min
pages 248-253

John Paul Strain

2min
pages 242-243

Karl Thomas

2min
pages 246-247

Lyle Tayson

2min
pages 244-245

Ron Stewart

1min
pages 238-241

Oleg Stavrowsky

2min
pages 234-237

Don Spaulding

1min
pages 226-227

Gene Speck

2min
pages 228-233

Irvin Shope

2min
pages 224-225

William Steve Seltzer

1min
pages 222-223

David Sanders

2min
pages 214-217

Alfredo Rodriguez

3min
pages 204-211

William Rushing

1min
pages 212-213

Conrad Schwiering

1min
pages 218-219

Gary Lynn Roberts

3min
pages 198-203

Olaf Carl Seltzer

2min
pages 220-221

Mack Ritchie

1min
pages 196-197

Douglas Ricks

2min
pages 194-195

Robert Pummill

3min
pages 182-187

Leonard H. Reedy

0
pages 188-189

Chuck Ren

2min
pages 190-193

John Phelps

2min
pages 178-179

Tom Phillips

2min
pages 180-181

Don Oelze

3min
pages 176-177

Jim C. Norton

3min
pages 168-175

John Moyers

2min
pages 166-167

Gerald McCann

2min
pages 142-143

Mitchell Mansanarez

1min
pages 138-141

David Mann

3min
pages 134-137

Frank McCarthy

2min
pages 144-147

Wendell Macy

1min
pages 132-133

Gerry Metz

1min
pages 148-153

Lanford Monroe

2min
pages 164-165

Kim Mackey

3min
pages 130-131

Dustin Lyon

1min
pages 128-129

Ted Long

2min
pages 124-127

Hayden Lambson

1min
pages 122-123

Morton Künstler

2min
pages 120-121

Harvey Johnson

2min
pages 116-117

Thomas Kinkade

3min
pages 118-119

John Jarvis

1min
pages 114-115

Heinie Hartwig

3min
pages 112-113

Robert Farrington Elwell

2min
pages 94-95

Raul Gutierrez

1min
pages 102-103

Carl Hantman

2min
pages 108-111

David Halbach

1min
pages 104-107

Martin Grelle

1min
pages 100-101

Joe Ferrara

1min
pages 98-99

John Fawcett

2min
pages 96-97

Charlie Dye

2min
pages 92-93

Robert Duncan

2min
pages 84-91

Austin Deuel

2min
pages 78-81

Gene Dodge

2min
pages 82-83

John DeMott

2min
pages 74-77

Stan Davis

1min
pages 70-73

Don Crowley

2min
pages 68-69

Sheila Cottrell

1min
pages 66-67

Jim Carson

3min
pages 44-55

Michael Coleman

1min
pages 56-61

Guy Corriero

2min
pages 64-65

Nicholas Coleman

2min
pages 62-63

Paul Calle

3min
pages 40-43

Don Brackett

2min
pages 34-35

Dan Bodelson

2min
pages 30-33

Reynold Brown

2min
pages 36-39

Paul Abram, Jr

1min
pages 16-19

Roy Andersen

2min
pages 26-29

William Ahrendt

2min
pages 22-25

INTRODUCTION

3min
page 15

Cassilly Adams

2min
pages 20-21
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