Video Slideshow of the Shakespeare Paintings

Check out this fun video of my Shakespeare paintings:

Thanks, Seeing Shakespeare! It's awesome to see them like this!

5 Reasons to Visit Our New Online Store!

"Your blog is looking particularly spiffy," you might say to us.

"It's the new 'Buy' button on the left," we'd reply.

Because it's official: you can now buy Giclee prints on canvas of Richard's work online! We have a store! We've tried to make the original size available whenever possible, and we often have smaller sizes, too. If you'd like to check it out, go to: richardrussellart.com/store

And now for those 5 reasons to visit the store, as promised:

1) Because you need a great gift for a fine art collector, a literature lover, or a Shakespeare fan you know.

2) Because you'd like to see what's new. We'll be offering more sizes and reproductions of more paintings often.

3) Because you'd like to check out Richard's work but you aren't able to make it to his galleries or his solo exhibition at the Utah Shakespeare Festival.

4) Because you'd like to own some of Richard's work, but aren't currently in the market for an original.

5) Because you just can't help but click on that stunning yellow button!

(And a big THANKS to Russell Web Design for helping us make the store spectacular!)

Where can YOU read Richard's Interview with 15 Bytes Magazine? Find out here!

Read the article here: Problem Solving: Richard Russell's Costumed Art, by Shawn Rossiter and then find out about the show opening by reading my post below.

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.

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.

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):

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!