Amarillo, TX
Sunset Art Gallery of Amarillo, October 1-31
Richard Alan Nichols, Edge of the Desert, oil, 18 x 24.
This story was featured in the October 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine. Get the Southwest Art October 2014 print issue or digital download now–then subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss another story!
This month Sunset Art Gallery of Amarillo shows the works of painter Richard Alan Nichols from October 1 to 31, with a reception on Friday, October 3, from 5 to 9 p.m., coinciding with the First Friday Art Walk. Nichols has been with the gallery since its inception and shows his painterly, impressionistic works, which he refers to as “visual poetry.” The award-winning artist’s paintings exude warmth and dynamic combinations of color and composition, which have made them popular at the gallery. “Rich is just fantastic. He’s very friendly, open, and a very talented artist,” says the gallery’s Loretta Corbin. “Everybody in this area loves Rich. His work is just phenomenal.”
Nichols didn’t feel an attraction to art until his junior year in high school in Chicago. A jock up to that point, he was first exposed to the world of creativity by an art teacher. “When I took my first art class as a junior, things just clicked, and I thought, ‘wow, this could be fun,’” Nichols says. “I just fell in love with painting and drawing.” He went on to receive degrees in fine art and commercial art from the American Academy of Art in Chicago and studied under master painters Irving Shapiro and Ted Smuskiewicz, who recognized Nichols’ talent and encouraged him to take his traditional style to the Southwest.
Nichols is now a nationally recognized artist. His works are heavily influenced by his time in Taos, NM, and exude an interconnectedness with this region that has been his home for 20 years. “It’s the thread of my weave that makes the tapestry of who I am,” Nichols says of Taos. “I say that all the time, but at first I had no idea how to explain it, and now that I’m older, I understand that each and every one of the souls and stones you touch makes you who you are. And it comes through in your work no matter if you try or not.” —Joe Kovack
contact information
806.352.2707
www.sunsetartgalleryofamarillo.com
Featured in the October 2014 issue of Southwest Art magazine–click below to purchase:
Southwest Art October 2014 print issue or digital download Or subscribe to Southwest Art and never miss a story!
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- Richard Alan Nichols, Gifts From the Past, oil, 18 x 24.
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- Richard Alan Nichols, Mosaic Amarillo, oil, 32 x 42.
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- Richard Alan Nichols, Ode to Spring, oil, 30 x 30.
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- Richard Alan Nichols, Adobe Pastures, oil, 10 x 20.
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- Richard Alan Nichols, Americana, oil, 30 x 40.
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- Richard Alan Nichols, Edge of the Desert, oil, 18 x 24.
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- Richard Alan Nichols, Rio Hondo, oil, 30 x 40.
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- Richard Alan Nichols, Small Hours, North Kiva, oil, 30 x 20.
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- Richard Alan Nichols, Sunday Canyon (Morning Light), oil, 24 x 30.
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