Why do what I do? Consider some of these open-ended and abstract thoughts:

“…There was always more in the world than men could see, walked they ever so slowly; they will see it no better for going fast. The really precious things are thought and sight, not pace……. for (man’s) glory is not at all in going, but in being.”—John Ruskin

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading”– Lao Tzu

“Too often my best times are when I get lost before I get to where I’m going”– Andy Rooney

‎”It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see” – Henry David Thoreau

“The hero is commonly the simplest and obscurest of men.” Henry David Thoreau

‎”Imagine that every person in the world is enlightened but you. They are all your teachers, each doing just the right things to help you learn perfect patience, perfect wisdom, perfect compassion.” – Buddha

“Wherever you live is your temple, if you treat it like one.” – Buddha

“If you want to know me, look inside your heart.” — Lao Tzu

“All you have to do is write one true sentence.”—Ernest Hemmingway

“If I could say it in words, there would be no reason to paint”–Edward Hopper

“There was nowhere to go but everywhere, so just keep on rolling under the stars.”– Jack Kerouac

Richard Weinstein is a classically-trained painter based in NYC. Aesthetically influenced by the Venetian, Baroque, Orientalist, and the Barbizon artists, his artistic interests are found in diversity and culture. He aims to paint portraits and genre scenes from a traveler’s perspective, being intrigued by the commonalities in us all, but also those daily rituals, fashions, or details that make us incredibly different. He strives to show a dignity and value in being “Ordinary” and “Mundane”, and an appreciation for “Rawness” over anything “Refined”.

Richard graduated from School of Visual Arts’ Illustration department before going on to study at Art Students League. At ASL, he earned the Phyllis Mason Grant while studying oil portraiture and also figurative watercolor under notable artists Ron Sherr, Irwin Greenberg, Max Ginsburg, and Sharon Sprung. Simultaneously, Richard also spent many years doing murals for Evergreene Studios, various editorial caricature illustrations, commercial storyboards, became a visiting painting instructor for the prestigious Doon School in Dehradun, India (Spring 2012), and since Fall 2012 has been teaching Illustration at the prestigious High School of Art and Design in Manhattan. Presently, Richard can be found somewhere between his studio, full-time teaching, and sketching…. somewhere….