Father's Day

It's amazing how much you appreciate your dad once you become a dad. Mine has always been great at teaching, reading, and working with us. And he's still helping me. I've learned so much about how to be a dad from him.  Here's a little sketch of my dad reading to my little boy. I've learned so much from you, Dad. Happy Father's Day.

New Painting and Chance to Win a Poster!

I love painting romantic pieces like the new piece below.  Love is an intimate, innocent hope that we all need and seems to be underrepresented these days.  

Journey's End

36" x 24"

Oil on Linen

Gilded Butterfly

20" x 16"

Oil on Panel

Do you know which Shakespeare painting the title of "Gilded Butterfly" comes from? If so, you could win a free signed Merry Wives of Windsor poster (Shown below)! 

We're running a giveaway (our first ever!) for a free signed poster of At Hern's Oak: The Merry Wives of Windsor. Just click on the link in the box below to enter by naming the title of the play: 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Merry Christmas!

This is Richard's newest piece. The original is for sale at the City Creek Deseret Book Gallery in Salt Lake City. I love this depiction of the Nativity, especially the tenderness with which Joseph is leaning over and comforting the baby. As a mother, Mary's adoration of the Christ child and the way she is holding his hand bring to mind how it felt gazing at my own children. The piece really captures one of those lovely little moments in family life. 

The piece below was finished last month, but I didn't get it posted here on the blog. It's such a fun, elegant little addition to the Shakespeare paintings:

Another New Piece

For those of you who haven't been to the Utah Shakespeare Festival's fall season, here's the new piece I unveiled opening weekend:

Be Stone No More: A Winter's Tale
by Richard Lance Russell
30" x 20"
Oil on Linen

Fun Painting Fact of the Day: Our models for Queen Hermione and King Leontes were actually husband and wife, and the model who posed for Perdita was really their daughter!

A new Oil painting as Promised . . .

Darling Buds of May
by Richard Lance Russell
Oil on Linen
24" x 18"

Well, here's the newest piece. This was one of those happy accidents that happen sometimes when shooting reference material. I was setting up a shot and glanced up to catch these two great models just naturally walking and talking. It was such a great image that I just had to paint it. The shape the period dresses made blowing in the wind was really to fun to pass up.

My apologies for taking a while to get it posted. We've got a project brewing around here . . . I'll keep you posted on that, too!

Another Gallery!

Richard's work is in another gallery! In addition to being represented by Joe Wade Fine Art in Santa Fe, NM, the Blue Mountain Artisans Gallery has invited him to show his work there.

It's particularly fun because this is a local gallery, here in our hometown, and this gives locals a chance to see (and buy! :) his paintings as well.

Having work in a gallery is always a partnership. Richard works to create great pieces that their clientele will appreciate and want to take home, and the gallery works to promote his work and make people aware of what is unique and fantastic about his paintings. Everybody wins. We hope the new partnership with this gallery will be a great success for everyone!

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!