Introducing: Richard Kooyman

I’d been following the work of Michigan-based artist, Richard Kooyman, for eight years before I reached out to him prior to opening The Willard Gallery. When he and his wife, fellow painter Melanie Parke, decided to join our small roster, I was overjoyed. Richard’s forested landscape views have added so much to the gallery walls these last months - a feeling of place and a sense of perspective.

Below, Richard notes that “making art is a way to be.” Richard speaks and writes thoughtfully about his work, his drive, and his inspiration, but this simple, yet poignant statement embodies the artist in Richard that I’ve gotten to know this last year. This ethos is not only evident in Richard’s artistry as a painter and creator, but also in the way he approaches his daily life - from writing about our natural world and the changing climate, to the woodworking and home improvement projects he tackles around his new house.

Portrait of artist Richard Kooyman; Orange Sky, sold.

What drives you to create?
I think painting or writing is the most radical thing an individual can do today. An artist has the ability to make or show something that no machine or corporation can. Making works of art and having works of art in our homes is a way to convey what being human is about. I'm interested in the fact that art isn't a product on a shelf. It can't be mass produced. Making art is a way to be.

How do you typically describe your landscape paintings?
I'm interested in certain specific phenomena that happens in the landscape. The way sunlight shines through a forest's trees when you look in the direction of the sun. Or the subtle glimmer of light on the surface of a lake. Glimpsing of something beyond is what so many of my paintings are about . You know that feeling when you are driving down the road and get the first view of the lake or ocean or a beautiful clearing through the trees or hills, that's what I want to paint. Maybe what I'm painting is a need to uncover something or that feeling of exploring.

Who are some of your favorite artists?
Early in my painting life I was really influenced by the Canadian Group of Seven, Victor Higgins and Georgia O'Keeffe, and Fairfield Porter. I also love the painters from the Renaissance, especially Piero della Francesca. For contemporary artists I often think about Agnes Martin, Kara Walker, and Terry Winters.

Pines Near the Beach and Birches on the Beach

How does the Michigan landscape inspire your work?
Residing in northern Michigan I get to see those glimpses of lake and woods I spoke about earlier. From my residencies in Maine I feel similar connections. I also love the rocky Canadian landscape and the distant blue mesas of New Mexico and the rich verdant hills of Italy. Michigan is constant.

Do you have any advice to artists who are just beginning their careers?
Find a place of low overhead to live and work. You will need time and space to build a career. Being an artist is the long game.

How do you know when a work is finished?
Sometimes you just don't know. I question it all the time. I see different things over time that need attention. It was said that J.M.W. Turner touched up paintings that hung in museums. But at some point you have to just let go and trust that it is done.

View of the Island, sold.

Describe your daily routine.
I usually get up early, green tea, out for a morning walk to look for birds, then it's business related office time till lunch. There is always something to set up or repair or package to ship off and usually around 2pm I am ready to begin thinking about painting. If it's a good painting day I'll paint till 6-7 pm. Sometimes the very best sessions only last an hour.

How do you spend your time when you’re not painting?
Both Melanie and I have gotten really into bird watching on our walks. We also just purchased a very old apple orchard which we are trying to get our heads around.

Favorite museums?
I love the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC for it's grand scale and wide diversity of exhibits. It’s a classical museum which I love. And I also love small scale museums like the Harwood in Taos New Mexico. But one one of the most amazing museums has to be the Palazzo Massiomo alle Terme in Rome, which is fantastic if you love Roman history.

Red Pines and Shoreline in Spring

Are there any places you’d like to someday visit specifically to paint?
Norway and Scotland.

Tell us about your experience working on the home you and Melanie just finished building.
We decided to build a new house and studio because we fell in love with a 27 acre piece of property that was once part of an old farmstead owned by two Norwegian bachelor brothers. It has a large field and a wooded natural bowl shaped depression in the land. It's home to deer, turkey, fox, coyotes, meadowlarks, bluebirds, red tail hawks, sandhill cranes, and the American Bald Eagle.

Building a new home can be overwhelming. There are countless decisions to be made in the planning stage and then on a daily basis. I took a year off from painting to participate in the process and I think it was actually very good for my painting practice. It was a way to step away from thinking about painting. I had to occupy my mind with architecture, design and fine carpentry. Now I think I have a fresh set of eyes on my work.

Scenes from Richard & Melanie’s new home.

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