“Merizon Barn”

“Merizon Barn”. . "Merizon Barn" is the work of artist Richard Jordan. Richard is a lifelong resident of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and enjoyed a 28-year career as a page designer and illustrator with the Kalamazoo Gazette. In 1997, he began painting outdoors, directly from nature (plein air) and it has been the driving force of his art ever since. In 2008 Richard founded the Plein Air Artists of West Michigan and continues to serve as its director today. , Inspiration for his work comes from scenes throughout southwest Michigan. Painting the unpredictable moods of nature, pushes him to solve complex visual problems in a few short hours. “Over the years, I’ve come to love the process of painting outdoors as much as the finished results. Good or bad, the day is never wasted and the lessons alone are worth the effort. Soaking in the surrounding landscape is as important to me as the painting itself. The sights, sounds and smells all play a role in my energy and mood right up to the final stroke of color.” , Richard studies the works of the American Tonalists and American Impressionists. Both groups immersed themselves in plein air painting. The Tonalists were concerned primarily with mood and emotion, while the Impressionists sought to capture light and shadow. , In 2013 Richard began teaching plein air painting workshops. He finds teaching others very enjoyable and beneficial to his own growth as an artist. , “It’s been said that ‘A painting is good not because it looks like something, but rather because it feels like something ’ and it’s that elusive quality I hope to achieve with each new painting.”