With Observatory Mountain rising sharply behind the window of his home in Grand Forks, BC, artist and printmaker Richard Reid, at age 90, is absorbed in a new work. Like the great cellist, Pablo Casals, who was asked why he continued to practise every day at the age of 95, Richard tells me he is drawn to his easel regularly because “I think I’m getting better.”
A living room that now serves primarily as his studio space, a stack of watercolours just completed, and a catalogue of achievements and awards, confirm Richard’s life-long commitment to the creative life.
As he puts his brush down, he jokingly adds, “And during this pandemic, I certainly haven’t been able to use the excuse “I don’t have the time!” And as his wife passed away a year ago, the work likely provides some solace as well. And joy.
“I get excited every time I set out to paint and make the first mark on the paper,” he says. “Every mark is unique, and when the marks integrate in a certain way, that’s magical! And every time I paint, the experience is different, too.”
There is a sense of improvisation to Richard’s work and processes. And you could say his life, as it has evolved into the art and relationships and experiences it has, has been similarly, and providently, extemporaneous.
Born in Regina in 1930, Richard can remember as a child the sounds of his stepfather improvising on a classical motif on the piano, but not having had the same exposure to the possibilities of visual art.
“My parents had a few stock landscape pictures on our walls – you know the kind with a country road lined with birches – so my notion of art was pretty limited.”
A drawing course taught by his Grade 7 teacher was the exception to this, giving him a brief glimpse into his aptitude for art, something that wasn’t explored further until after graduating from high school. In the meantime, an interest in “how things worked” – electronics, electrical gadgets, car engines – occupied most of his teenage years.
Waffling between architecture and medicine as post-secondary pursuits, Richard chose to study architectural drawing at the Manitoba Technical Institute. Then, the buzz around the opening of the nearby School of Art at the University of Manitoba in 1950 led to an unanticipated move – enrolment in their new program. Expecting to leave with a diploma in commercial art, Richard stayed on to complete a BFA, majoring in the highly technical art of intaglio printmaking.
With a knack for fixing things, and a slight incredulousness that art was posed to play a major role in his life, the years following graduation from art school were rich with exploration.
A winter sojourn in Mexico and summer jobs in Manitoba were followed by sailing to Europe with his bride, co-artist Beverley Williams, and travelling via Westphalia van to soak in the culture that had inspired their passion for art. Stepping into a vibrant and socially “revolutionary” time in Europe, the Reids oscillated between periods of work in London, immersion in their art and connecting with other artists fuelled by the new energy of liberalism that was sweeping the continent.
It was also a time of soul searching.
“Those years in Europe really made me confront who I was as a person, and what I wanted to do as an artist. I had to look inside to clarify what I wanted to express. I realized that I wanted to essentially express the human experience – the way we experience life, love, loss, landscape, a glass of wine… For me, that’s what holds meaning, and motivates me to paint.”
It was also at this time that Richard began developing his own aesthetic. Schooled in the representational style of the masters – Rembrandt, Valesquez, El Greco, Goya, Manet – he began adopting a more modernist view and abstract approach.
“Shape, line, texture, colour – these things have always been more important to me than representation. Together, they allow me to suggest something that is larger than what is definable or visible.”
At age 34, when he and Beverley returned to Canada, Richard was more assured of both his purpose and style and could be coaxed to share his knowledge with others. Starting with adult art classes for the Vancouver School Board, in 1970 he accepted an invitation to join the faculty of the Fine Arts department at UBC, initially as an assistant professor and then as chairman of the BFA program.
An opportunity during this time to build a summer retreat in the mountains near Christina Lake, BC, and devote more time to his artmaking, led to his departure from UBC in 1979, and a new life in “the wilderness.”
It wasn’t long before the Reids were bringing “light to the wilderness” in the form of the Grand Forks Art Gallery, with Richard, as founder and director, volunteering to act as curator, and Beverley as co-curator.
“Just as becoming a career artist was never really a goal of mine, so too, I never thought I’d ever be a curator – it just sort of happened. But it ended up being an enjoyable project; we had fun hosting all kinds of great regional and national exhibitions.”
In 2004, with the Grand Forks Art Gallery now a beacon of culture for the community, Richard was able to hand over the reins. Having acquired a dedicated studio in town, he now had the luxury of uninterrupted time and space to paint. He started exploring watercolours more and building on his shifting interest from the human figure to landscape as the central motif in his work. But there was always a sense that they were somehow entwined.
“I look upon landscape as a sensual, tactile thing, as if there is a bond that is kind of inherent between the physical thing out there and ourselves.”
Indeed, in many of his later works, Richard hints at that interconnectedness of human and natural forms, his lyrical paint strokes invoking both their tangible and intangible qualities.
Retirement also afforded more time for rumination.
“I seemed to have good fortune along the way in my life. Recognition, fame, success – all those were unimportant to me. Rather, it was the small things – that timely support of others, like artists Toni Onley and Jack Shadbolt, and even my Grade 7 teacher – that helped me continue and believe in what I was doing,” says Richard. “As an artist, you’re going to have people who don’t like or understand your work, so to have the occasional validation was important.”
The other validation – the fact that he is the recipient of three Canada Council awards, a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and his works featured in 80 solo and group exhibitions around the world – don’t even get a mention!
I couldn’t help but think that Richard’s indifference to public opinion and willingness to “go with the flow” throughout his life as an artist, mentor, teacher and curator might account for his youthfulness. He, of course, is less lofty in his analysis.
“I’ve always eaten reasonable food and I’m happy with one cup of coffee a day and a small glass of wine or two at night. I’ve never taken medications, and I’ve never stayed in a hospital (except for tonsillitis as a kid!). I exercise daily by walking, using a stationary bike, and doing 10 minutes of calisthenics before going to bed.”
I ask him if his vitality as a 90-year-old has anything to do with his mental outlook.
“We are only around for a while – why ruin it by going to places that upset you? Better to appreciate what there is and make the most of it.”
A most humble view, coming from an artist who has always managed to land on his feet. And considering he has no plans to slow down – with an exhibition in the works and an autobiography soon to be released – it might be a philosophy to heed. After all, it’s never too late to get better!
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