We have always admired Richard Power’s work on the well-known, “A Land Remembered” series, and now he is bringing these prints as well as exciting new images of some of our favorite gamefish to you in the Snook Foundation online store.
Benefiting the Snook Foundation, Richard is offering some of his prints through our webstore, or you can purchase directly from his site, ArtistRichardPowers.com, and trigger a donation to snook research by mentioning the Snook Foundation.
Fort Kissmmee Landing, print now available through SnookFoundation.org
Richard Powers’ rendering of a surfacing sailfish drew a lot of interest when it was featured on the cover of Coastal Angler Magazine earlier this year. Here are some excerpts from Richard Power’s recent interview following the publication, with Ben Martin, of Coastal Angler Magazine.
Ben: How long have you been painting?
Richard: As of April 2009 I’ve been painting for over 20-years, but my love and fascination with the Florida outdoors goes back to my early childhood and the opportunities I had even at a young age to experience the magnificence of Florida’s outdoor wonders.
Ben: What was your first painting?
Richard: I painted a sunset scene of Englewood Beach, taken from a photograph that my cousin took.
Ben: Why do you choose to paint aquatic and outdoor subject matter?
Richard: Florida, as I remember it growing up as a child, is now gone and will not be remembered if not captured in paintings and stories.
The fragile landscapes of our coastal areas and the inlands are being developed at such an extraordinary rate, that it has become difficult to see and remember what once was.
As these developers move across our state we are finding a significant reduction in our wildlife, natural habitats, estuaries, coastal bay areas, and our offshore and inland habitats are dwindling to only a shadow of what they once were.
Ben: What’s your favorite painting so far?
Release, by Richard Powers, was featured on the cover of Coastal Angler Magazine. Print now available.
Richard: That is very difficult for me to say. I love them all and each painting that I’ve created shares a unique story about Florida and our history here.
Ben: Where have some of your paintings ended up?
Richard: My paintings can be found in private collections from several individuals that collect specific stories in paintings as well as some corporate offices throughout the state.
You can find my paintings on many of the Polk County-owned and operated facilities as I am often commissioned to paint murals of a life lived in nature within this region.
Ben: I understand that you have also provided artwork for some book covers, can you tell us about that?
Richard: The artwork that I’ve produced specifically for books is found in a series of paintings that were painted for the book, A Land Remembered book, written by Partick Smith.
This book is historical fiction set in pioneer Florida, covering a century of growth from 1858-1968.
I am often asked to speak at local schools regarding this collection as it was a personal passion of mine to complete it because of my history as a native Floridian.
Ben: What are some of your subject matter plans for the future?
Richard: I am looking forward to doing more in the way of habitat and wildlife landscapes this year – sort of a “Florida’s backcountry” painting series. I’m also considering doing some billfish paintings in 2009.
Ben: How did you feel about having your sailfish painting used as a cover design for Coastal Angler Magazine?
Richard: It was an honor to have my work showcased on the cover of Coastal Angler Magazine. It’s always a great joy to see your work in print, but to have it on Coast Angler’s cover was a great deal of fun, too.
Ben: We thought so too, thanks, Richard!