 Mini Richards’ work reflects a controlled spontaneity as the colors mix, sparkle and run according to the medium. She is skilled in drawing, pastel, water color and oil. Mini believes the challenge of drawing the figure and showing the emotions and moods possessing it, is exciting and fulfilling. She believes painting should not only speak out but also pass the feelings of the subject to the viewer. Although she mostly paints figuratively, she enjoys mixed media and contemporary art. However, Mini admits at this point in her career her main emphasis is “to paint whatever moves me.” Marriage took Mini far from her Arizona home. Her husband was an Air Force pilot who flew in the Vietnam War. Mack took his bride to live in many states during his 21-year career in the Air Force. It was when the newlyweds lived in North Carolina that Mini took up art as a hobby. She says the decision was partially to fill the lonely days, weeks an sometimes months her husband was gone on flying missions; but it also unleashed her long desire and love for painting. She took a few classes from local teachers but it wasn’t until the couple moved to Stillwater, Oklahoma that Mini met her first inspiring teacher. Jaques Hans Gallrein, former Art Director at Oklahoma State University, was trained in Munich Germany at the Royal Academy of Art. He was a master of impressionism. Under his guidance, art became a passion for Mini and she could no longer consider it a hobby. She became Gallrein’s understudy. Mini always considered him her greatest teacher and fondly remembers his stock answer when students asked him if their paintings were finished. He would simply say “It’s always finished or it’s never finished". Life as an Air Force wife took Mini overseas. For two years she lived in Bangkok, Thailand and she didn’t let the land’s exotic beauty escape her canvass. She studied the traditional art of the Thai people, whose themes center on Buddhism, and joined the Ambassador’s wife in support of Thai artists organizations. Mini’s travels have come full circle and she once again calls Arizona home. Her art has matured into a vivid study of human form and strong themes of color and expression. She challenges the viewer to see the human body as a celebration of life’s oneness and completeness. Mini is a juried member of the Arizona Artists Guild. Her education includes the following: Understudy to Jaques Hans Gallrein – Stillwater, Oklahoma Arizona State University; Thailand Art Institutions; Scottsdale Artist’s School; Glendale Community College and Scottsdale Community College. |