The Utah Shakespeare Festival draws around 150,000 visitors each year. We met some of them on June 28th and 29th at the opening of Richard's exhibit. On Thursday evening we were treated to a show opening where we met patrons, producers, and performers. Richard was asked to say a few words about the exhibit. I especially enjoyed his comparison between creating a painting and putting on a production. He mentioned how a painter has to cast, costume, and light a role, as well as design backgrounds and tell the story. His remarks really showed the connection between the exhibition and the Festival.
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Artist Richard Lance Russell just before the opening of "Truth, Mirth, and Turmoil,"
his 2012 solo exhibition at the Utah Shakespeare Festival. |
The opening of the show coincided with the opening night for The Merry Wives of Windsor, and we got to see it that night. It was sensational! As is often the case with Shakespeare, you've got to see this play to fully appreciate it. And when Shakespeare's wordplay is combined with the comic hilarity of such actors as:
John G. Preston and
Matt Holzfeind, Melinda Pfundstein, and others, the text takes on a new level of enjoyment. They were completely true to the text, of course, and there was just enough updating to catch a modern audience. My favorite part? John G. Preston's "I got my eyes on you" gesture at the end of Act 3, scene 3. Watch for it. Ha!
The next day, Richard had a signing at the Randall Jones Gifts and Gallery. As an artist, he works on his own a lot. Just him and the canvases in the studio. It was so rewarding for him to actually get to see people responding to the work, to talk to them about which paintings they liked and why, and to share his vision with the Festival patrons. We made a lot of friends and enjoyed the signing immensely.
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Artist Richard Lance Russell
signing prints at the Utah Shakespeare Festival |
At the signing, Richard was approached by an artist and journalist we have long admired: Shawn Rossiter. He is the editor of
Utah's Art Magazine: 15 Bytes and besides being a very nice guy is a great writer. I'm especially fond of his work now, because while we were at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, he scheduled an interview with Richard and subsequently wrote a fantastic article about him in the magazine! Check it out:
Problem Solving: Richard Russell's Costumed Art, by Shawn Rossiter Here's the interview photo Shawn Rossiter took (you can also find it in the 15 Bytes article):
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Painter Richard Lance Russell
at the Utah Shakespeare Festival |
The exhibit runs through October, so if you haven't had a chance to see it yet, start planning your trip to Cedar City to catch some great plays and some great paintings!
