RICHARD ORIENT
Artist Statement
Hudson River Landscapes, December 11th, 2018 through January 19, 2019
My New paintings are observations of the Hudson River and its environs.
I travel by train back and forth from New York City to Poughkeepsie through the Hudson River
Valley. As the train travels along the banks of the Hudson River I observe the varied terrain of
the river landscape. I have grown familiar with the geography of the river as it flows through
valleys with lush river banks and through mountains and deep woods. The new paintings are
about what I see from the window of the train as it speeds along the river bank. I’m interested in
portraying the passing landscape and painting a glimpse of what I’ve seen. These new river
paintings are more abstract than my previous landscape paintings and I think more intimate in
there impressionistic style. There’s a quality of motion in my depiction of the river as I watch it
pass by at a fast speed - light and reflections are fleeting and the terrain is ever changing.
Working from memory and photos, and on a smaller scale than before, I paint an impression
of what I observed, in oil paint applied with a rubber spatula in a dragging method that smears
the paint in an impressionistic evocation of both the speed and movement in train travel and the
still presence of the river scene.
My New paintings are observations of the Hudson River and its environs.
I travel by train back and forth from New York City to Poughkeepsie through the Hudson River
Valley. As the train travels along the banks of the Hudson River I observe the varied terrain of
the river landscape. I have grown familiar with the geography of the river as it flows through
valleys with lush river banks and through mountains and deep woods. The new paintings are
about what I see from the window of the train as it speeds along the river bank. I’m interested in
portraying the passing landscape and painting a glimpse of what I’ve seen. These new river
paintings are more abstract than my previous landscape paintings and I think more intimate in
there impressionistic style. There’s a quality of motion in my depiction of the river as I watch it
pass by at a fast speed - light and reflections are fleeting and the terrain is ever changing.
Working from memory and photos, and on a smaller scale than before, I paint an impression
of what I observed, in oil paint applied with a rubber spatula in a dragging method that smears
the paint in an impressionistic evocation of both the speed and movement in train travel and the
still presence of the river scene.
