He’s becoming a familiar sight to the locals south of the Broad – close to marsh islands, on the river banks or in scenic backyards overlooking the water – Richard Coyne is standing at this easel capturing the Lowcountry light in his oil paintings. A winning smile on his face and an easy manner, he wears high snake boots and a wide-rimmed straw hat.
A plein air painter by conviction he’s known to go out at 5AM to paint the sunrise over the marsh. Richard says, “What inspires me most, is trying to capture the spirit and light of whatever I’m drawing or painting.”
Richard is the featured artist for the new exhibit The Color, Light & Forms of the Lowcountry opening at the Art League Gallery of Hilton Head in Pineland Station, February 12. The show will present his recent oil paintings. The public is invited to meet the artist at a reception from 5 – 7 pm.
Serene scenes of the Lowcountry at dawn and dusk are among Richard’s favorite motifs. He’s been seduced by the subtle though vibrant marsh colors that change from moment to moment. As a determined plein air painter, Richard has made the process of getting the marks to talk to each other through direct observation his ultimate goal, in combination with the challenge to capture the delicate light as well as intense color that characterizes the Lowcountry. He is striving to interpret his subject matter through relationships of color and form, balanced with a sense of atmospheric illumination and compressed “perspectival space.”
Richard is currently showing his paintings at the I. Pinckney Simons Galleries in Beaufort and Columbia, SC. Giclées of his oils as well as watercolors can be found in several galleries in the Bluffton & the Hilton Head area. Richard is a New York born artist, who studied at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture.
Richard moved to the Lowcountry in early 2006 and now resides in Bluffton. Involved in art creation most of his life, Richard has created tiles in relief and built extensive displays celebrating the Christmas holiday. He is a UNICEF published artist, an internationally published illustrator, a previous Vice President of the National Society of Mural Painters having designed and executed murals in residential and commercial spaces in the New York area. He is a member of the Salmagundi Club, the Art League of Hilton Head, and the Society of Bluffton Artists, where he garnered the Second Prize in last year’s Judged Show (by West Frazer) of the Society of Bluffton Artists.
The Art League of Hilton Head is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to promoting and supporting the visual arts through education, exhibitions and partnerships for the cultural enrichment of the community and its visitors. It operates a Gallery staffed by volunteers for the display and sale of artwork by its members.
The Gallery is open Monday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. till 6:00 p.m. For additional information contact the gallery at 843-681-5060 or check the website at www.ArtLeagueHHI.org
