Acrylic artist John Robert Rieben, a winter resident of Ozona, FL, shares what inspires him to paint faces of various people in his collection. Rieben donated some of his collection to the Dunedin Fine Art Center’s Trashy Treasures event.
The two-day event kicks off Friday evening at 6 pm with a $10 admission. Patrons receive a hot dog, beverage and are treated to live music by The Lint Rollers. A silent auction will be held for the more prestigious items.
Acrylic Painter Describes His Craft
In an interview earlier his week, John Robert Rieben described how he approaches each individual painting project.
Transcript
“I’m very selfish about painting. I paint for myself. I’m not painting for an audience. Every canvas for me is new. It’s not a continuing technique or style. Everything is a new experience. It’s just for me.”
Prior to this year, I just had a show with 50 of the faces and this year I named every face. I did that because I have a son who is a real painter. And, he said people want titles for their paintings. They would feel better about it. So I did that.
Listening to His Audience
I was going around watching the people looking at the paintings, looking at the name and making up their own stories about the whole thing. I realize how that works. People want to interpret it as something that they are comfortable with. I think naming the paintings was a step forward this year.
Connecting With People and Their Faces
This is Lisa. She came about because early in the morning I was watching Morning Jo. They were talking about someplace. I think it was Malawi maybe. There was a story about an orphanage and an American group that was there. Their poster gal was a little girl named Lisa. I carried her with me all day while I was painting. I think I captured the feeling in her eyes and that sort of thing, rather than her physical appearance, perhaps.
This is a result of my interest in German expressionism and I have spent a lot of time looking at the Blauer-Ryder Group and those people; looking at the way they painted. It’s the kind of thing I really relate to.”
As for Trashy Treasures, Rieben shares this opinion. “I think a lot of people maybe would rather spend their money on milk and bread and not art. Here’s an opportunity to get some rather inexpensive art, and some of it is really good, pretty darn good.”