Gay Summer Rick

Phenomenon

2019 - 2021

Depicts the terminal view from LAX. Sparsely populated though replete with objects and evidence of the built environment, Gay Summer Rick creates iconic urban and coastal land and cityscape paintings that evoke emotion and a sense of place. She creates scenes that are at once dreamlike and familiar. You may have been there; you are there. Revealing an unexpected beauty in commonplace elements within the urban landscape, Gay Summer’s style is a melding of impressionism and color-field painting describing the quiet vibration of life where cities meet the sea. Applying oil paint to canvas using only palette knives, Gay Summer Rick creates images through a series of interacting, melded layers. The paint is treated architectonically; it is engineered, built into layers, carved, scraped, accumulated, and almost sculpted, but never removed, never discarded. In part to avoid material waste and the use of toxic solvents for reasons of environmentalism, she finds this almost mnemonic accrual of paint a reflection of her experiences in the places she depicts. Growing up in New York surrounded by artists, Gay Summer Rick began her arts education early in life. She went on to formally study art and received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in New York at the School of Art and Design, Alfred University, where she drew, painted and sculpted images on clay forms and vessels. After receiving a Masters degree in Business Administration, she continued her art training in Los Angeles in painting, which became the primary focus of her art practice. A resident of Southern California for over 25 years, the artist maintains her studio in Malibu. Gay Summer Rick regularly exhibits in California and Hawaii, and has shown in New York, Europe, and Japan. Her paintings have been featured in solo gallery exhibitions and museum group exhibitions including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Rental & Sales Gallery; and in international and national group exhibitions where she has received numerous awards and honors. She is a member of Oil Painters of America, California Art Club, Malibu Art...

Oil on canvas

Artist Commentary: The celebration of the 75th anniversary of the "Wizard of Oz" was presented by Warner Bros. and dozens of their partners. As part of the celebration, artists exhibited artwork related to the theme. This painting showed at the slot machine manufacturer in Chicago. Keywords: Oz, Emerald City

Abstracted landscape by California artist Devon Brockopp-Hammer (American, b. 1986). The bold orange underpaint has been allowed to peek through the composition, adding a glowing eff...