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Richard Scott
"Some people are born with the gift to speak in colours. One of those people is Richard Scott." Gus Siber
The Epic Art of an Epic Race
Art is the creative force that drives and inspires me, filling my working days with the joyful toil of bringing colour and line to life. But even the most obsessive artist needs to get out of the studio every now and again, and when that urge overtakes me, I hop on my bike and head for the mountains.
Mountain biking is my sport of choice, and I doubt that there is a more beautiful and challenging place in which to practice that pursuit than in my home province of the Western Cape.
But those trails through the mountains and forests can be grueling, if you take the scenic route on one of the most epic mountain bike stage races in the world. The Absa Cape Epic.
Known to its ardent devotees as the Tour de France of mountain biking. This race covers more than 700kms over eight days, on a course that changes every year.
For beauty of landscape and test of endurance, this event takes your breath away, and I say this with some conviction, having completed it twice. So my dream as an artist and an Absa Cape Epic racer was to combine my two passions, and it was with this in mind that I approached the founder of the race, Kevin Vermaak, at the 2013 post-Epic auction at Meerendal Wine Estate.
My original idea was to capture the colour and grandeur of the Absa Cape Epic in a single oil on canvas, but my meeting with Kevin Vermaak led me to believe that the Epic is too epic an event for just one work of art.
Hence the series of five works showcasing the different stage locations of the 2015 Absa Cape Epic: Cape Town, Elgin, Worcester, Wellington and Meerendal.
The five original artworks accompanied by a series of limited edition prints with an edition size of 12, to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the Absa Cape Epic. Richard Scott 2015.
*OLIVE TREE EDITION PRINT
Description:
Outside Hout Bay Manor hotel is a Jacaranda tree. Springtime brings the Jacaranda to full bloom. An amazing sight. That tree was the inspiration for my first tree painting; Jacaranda Tree and many others.
I am in awe of trees. The tall blue gums as you drive from Kirstenbosch to Hout Bay. The power of the trees in Lord of the Rings. When I was a kid there were treehouses everywhere. I remember watching those wilderness programmes and those huge treehouses. I want to build Richie the biggest treehouse and spend many nights up there sleeping, exploring and reliving my childhood memories. So, yes, trees have a special place for me. Olive Orchard: This print is a spinoff of Red Tree and I decided to edition it to 700 along with its Blue Sky brother. I have always wondered how artist can create such a large edition. I was sitting in a doctor’s room way back in 2002 and I noticed a Walter Batiss edition to 1000. It fascinated me that 1000 people in the world had this artwork in their house or office or museum. Very cool. Richard Scott.
*CANDY MANDY
Description:
After the launch of the Winters Day print, which also featured Mandy, I launched Mandy with a bright Candy background. It’s a take on the popular Candy series I do in the paintings. The candy stripes kinda represent all the colourful things/traits/personality/looks about Mandy, whether she is my Mandy or your Mandy.
This happens to be my most popular print in the series of the 147 edition.
Media release from Richard Scott 10 September 2015
A Richard Scott painting entitled Mad Me was auctioned in England last week achieving a record price of 16,000 - R341,000. The auction was in aid of the charity MAD - Francois Pienaar's Make A Difference Leadership Foundation,
Richard worked closely with 3 scholars from MAD, who assisted him at his studio for just one day!
Congratulations Richard.