Artospective: Portrait Paintings by Richard Greathouse from Italy.

Camilla II

An Interview with Richard Greathouse.

Who and where are you from?

I grew up in Nashville, Tennessee, and after spending some time in university studying architecture, I decided to dedicate myself to painting, and moved to Florence, Italy, where I currently reside. Both of my grandfathers had artistic inclinations which they pursued in their free time, and my family has been incredibly supportive of my decision to pursue a life as an artist.

How you got into this?

I was always attracted to drawing, and in my teens I discovered the wonders of paint. When I decided to follow its path, I knew I needed proper training, so I enrolled in the Florence Academy of Art in Florence, Italy. My time in school there opened up a much wider world than I knew previously, and after graduating, I stayed on as teacher. I am currently teaching drawing and painting as well as artistic anatomy, when I am not working on my own work.

What is your driving force?

Selfishly speaking, I see my time in front of the easel as a sort of sacred space in which I can both meditate and revel in the nature of whatever I’m painting. The best moments are those in which there is nothing between myself and the subject; the true nature, or “is-ness”, of the subject reveals itself, and the external world washes away. The great works from the past, in my opinion, are products of this “state of doing,” and I am fascinated by how the physical properties of the paint itself can encapsulate some hint of these states. In that way, a painting can be a record of these profound moments - beautiful in its own way, and beautiful in what it represents. Therein lies the flip side of the selfish act, because I truly believe that great art can move people to appreciate more the world around them, if the artist was able to appreciate it fully him or herself. We live in a beautiful and mysterious world, and a more widely spread appreciation could make it an even better place.

What kind of work you do and why?

Lately I have focused primarily on portraits. I find that when placed in front of another living being, and having to study them carefully and with intention, a confrontation with the profundity and mystery of existence is almost inevitable. By being in the presence of another person’s “is-ness,” I find myself (sometimes uncomfortably) more keenly aware of my own. It is both exciting and challenging. I think the same experiences can come from working from any subject, but I have found personally that it is easier for me to gain access to this state when working with another person, from life.