When I was young, I thought that all I had to do to overcome the obstacles in the way of my goals was to work hard with what talents I had, dedicate myself to my craft, suffer the loss of income for the sake of ‘art’ and sally forth.  I soon learned that no matter what ambition I might have, the world just doesn’t work that way.   There was something missing.  It was something critical, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it!

I met Rosemary Holmes-Smith when she approached me about creating a poster for a campaign called ‘Grandmothers and Grand-Others’.  This was an organization funded by ‘The Stephen Lewis Foundation’, a non-profit group in Canada.  Grandmothers here in Canada supported grandmothers in Africa whose children had died of AIDS.  They were left, (at their age… and in incredible poverty), to raise the grandchildren who were left behind.  Grandmothers across the world rallied and decided to help these grandmothers who had to start raising children all over again.

I created and donated a poster for them depicting an African angel.  The red ribbons on the left side represent blood and the gold patterns are a replica of the Aids virus as seen under an electron microscope.  The angel is saying “NO” to the virus and protecting the child.It was a simple message, I am not a graphic artist, but it bonded Rosemary us together.  When we met, she was over 80 years old, on oxygen and in a wheelchair from her 50 year battle with asthma and had more fire in her than I had ever seen in anyone!  She put her fiery arms around me and kept saying “Paint! Paint”!

She was from England and the ‘art world’ and so enthusiastic that she commissioned me to do an entire series I called ‘Classico’ where I painted from different selections of classical music.  She insisted I choose my own music to paint to.  Being a rock and blues fan, this was a little out of my league, but I started to listen to classical music.  I found Liszt and Beethoven and other wonders!  Some I didn’t like but some I adored and they inspired me to paint the feeling I found inside the music.

Once completed we rented the local art gallery for the evening, sent out invitations, rented a grand piano and contracted two pianists to play each selection.  My daughter implemented a slide show so the paintings could be shown above the piano when their piece was played.  It was excellent and enjoyed by all.  The show almost sold out and many of the pieces were bought by Rosemary herself. She was my angel!

Three years ago, she passed away.  If she had not buoyed me up, had she not been my patron, had she not kept nagging me continuously to “Paint! Keep Painting!”  then never would I have persevered.  Rosemary was my ‘missing link’.  Someone who believed in me, someone who helped me financially, someone who cheered me on!

And so, that is what is so needed to complete the equation.  Someone ‘else’…another human being who will give you that help, that encouragement when you need it most.  I hope I can pass that along to others.  It is a gift when you see another artist struggling to stay afloat or keep the faith, when you will lend a kind ear or a word of encouragement because those words could truly be that missing ingredient in a life that would otherwise slip beneath the surface.

Here is an interesting and apparently rare clip of Renoir painting with terribly arthritic hands.  What strikes me the most in this film is the attention of his caregivers.  They seem to coax him along and lift his spirits and make it possible for him to carry on. They were, in the end, his missing link.

www.helenbroadfoot.com

Watch this video on YouTube.

To do a posthumous portrait of a child, for bereaved parents, or the deceased spouse of a loved one for a despondent partner, or a beloved family member or close friend, . . and then to see tears of joy for that treasured remembrance. . . There’s no way to describe the marvelous sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, that sense of giving something important back to the individual and humanity, that sense of meaning that fills your soul. . . I guess that’s a good reason to do it.

Shakespeare wrote:

The evil that men do lives after them, while the good is oft’ interred with their bones.

The most neglected phase of art in most art tutorial books, is basic drawing. The problem with this is that it’s THE most important element in any piece of art. Even the most abstract, non objective painting or sculpture is trash without good basic drawing, design and composition. If there is no balance or craft in a piece of art or sculpture, I believe it will ultimately be rejected. Notwithstanding fad trends or heavy duty marketing by fashionable galleries, there can never be an important and lasting work without encompassing the basics. In music, literature and art, there is no such thing as a happy accident.

Unfortunately, our primary school system is sadly lacking in it’s teaching of the arts, even though it’s inherent in the youngest of children to draw and paint. If you present a marker or pencil to a one year old, they will immediately begin to scribble, to create an impression, to draw. Children learn so very quickly. The serious study of one of the arts is as essential to growth as the three R’s, The most important investment in our future is the cultural development of our young and because of economics and misplace priorities, we’re losing them.

Adolf Hitler understood this very well. In the beginning of his political life and the horrendous Third Reich, he developed the Hitler Youth program and began the indoctrination of his thousand year empire. He stated. “If you can influence the children, you can conquer the world”. With the beautifully designed uniforms, swords, daggers and regalia for his growing military and a focus on a philosophy of hate, he very nearly did.

I was privileged, my mother encouraged me to draw and paint at a very young age and I came to embrace it. The first portrait I ever did was of my mother sitting in the kitchen knitting in front of the stove on a cold winter day. I don’t know how old I was, I had just started school so I was probably six or seven at most. I can’t tell you how long it took. However, I do know how proud and delighted I was at her emotional reaction to my drawing. I believe my life’s work was determined on that very day.

I’m sure it’s also true that to devote your life to the arts, you have to be of a certain nature, be born under the proper sign, be sensitive, feeling and concerned with the aesthetics. Despite this, I do believe that nature has to be nurtured and our civilization is wasting a great deal.

To be encouraged is an absolute requirement. But too often, negatives prevail and creativity is suppressed in the individual and frustration takes it’s place. The difference between what you are and what you could be, can be a terrible thing to live with through a lifetime. Youngsters learn that the worst thing they can do is make a mistake. Spontaneity can be risky, but without that spontaneity there is little experimentation and without experimentation there is little personal and innovative progress.

It’s never been necessary to defend my masculinity, I’m as close to one hundred percent male as humanly possible. Regardless, I do recognize that my personality contains some, commonly considered, feminine traits, a deep sensitivity for one. I’ve also noticed that due to that sensitive temperament, artists are generally concerned with more than one of the arts. In my case, I’m involved in all of them, art, music and literature. My only regret is not being able to live several hundred years, so that I may explore them all.

We are currently selecting models for the principle character illustrations and editing the manuscript down from 6 1/2 hrs. to approx. 3 hrs.  It’s written in the first person by the lead character Tony James (a cliche of the 40s movies .  I have loosely based his character on the Tom Sellek character from the period movie “Lassiter”.  We include the movie poster painted by me in a transparent watercolor technique, with a variation sketch.  All the images will be done in the same style.  The “Winds of War” poster in transparent watercolor, is also included.  The principle female leads Catherine Rothschild and Susan Taylor are also depicted here, watercolor paintings to follow.  The other two characters of the three principle male lead characters are quite unique and casting is still ongoing.

In my eightieth year, I’m very healthy with all my faculties.  I have a great love of this magnificent life and everything it offers.  I am determined to continue my work and my search for new interests and challenges for at least another twenty years.  If only it was possible to live another hundred years . . .  I am gonna take a shot at it!

Thank you for your interest and best regards,

Richard R. Miller