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Biography
Richard T. Scott is currently studying painting at the Lamar Dodd School of
Art at the University of Georgia. He resides in Athens and will graduate in May 2005 with a BFA. He plans on attending graduate school in New England this
fall. His work was most recently featured at the Original Fine Art Gallery in
Athens, GA, where he regularly teaches painting classes.
Artist Statement
In my earliest memories of childhood, I recall first the blurred image of trees,
how they fade to blue in the distance. I remember how the colors shifted when
a cloud passed overhead, and how a wind would pick up an orange dust and obscure
the horizon. I have always been fascinated by the changes that take place over
time and distance. When I first saw The Burning of the House of Parliament
by J.M.W. Turner, I immediately was drawn to its atmospheric quality; the obscured
yet detailed form. When I encountered the work of Pontormo and, later, Degas,
I became fascinated with the human form.
Now I study the psychological and physical language of the human body and how
it relates to three-dimensional space. This three-dimensional element gives
me a greater flexibility for communication than two-dimensional, design-oriented
work. I view two-dimensional work much as I view a haiku: there is elegance
in the simplicity of its compositional format, which is challenging in its own
right. Yet I feel that naturalism has not been as greatly explored as such strict
cannons that have been used since before ancient Egypt. In the 30,000 years
since the cave-paintings of Lascaux, less than 1,000 of those have delved into
composition within the illusion of three-dimensional space. I see a great opportunity
for expression and incorporation of the discoveries made in modern art to the
framework of the classical aesthetic.