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Southern California Artists
More Interviews:
SCA Member Ron Reekers by Marie Martin
Google new SCA member, Ronald Reekers, and you’ll be presented with a surprising array of “hits”. You’ll see "artist, oils, pastels, ink washes, mono-types, printmaking and murals." In addition to art entries, you will see sites for “Martial Arts” (Ron has seven Black Belts in various disciplines). In addition, Ron is a full-time Aerospace Engineer, is married with two grown children, and is active in his church.
MM — Tell us about your work. RR — Every element of my paintings must have a reason for being. I often think of my artwork in the context of documentation: recording events, ideas, time, and so on. Whatever I’m working on at a given moment speaks to what’s on my mind at that moment. Over the years, the immediacy of the moment has been expressed in landscapes, portraits and figurative work.
I am interested in developing a body of work which includes specific themes such as faith, driving, engineering science and more traditional explorations in landscape, still life and the figure.
MM — What artists have influenced you and why? RR — My influences started at a very young age. In high school, I was mesmerized by the work of English fantasy illustrators such as Roger Dean and Brian Froud. In my early twenties, I discovered in a very deep way, Michelangelo’s humanism and Cezanne’s modern aesthetics. I spent a good amount of time in my thirties in landscape painting and pastel drawing so the Luminists were very influential, especially George Inness. But for the past six to seven years, I’ve been in search of our zeitgeists. This may sound strange, but I’m fascinated by Post Modernism and the German Pop Artists such as Gerhard Richter and Sigmar Polke. My most current influences are with the late 19th century still life painters such as William Harnett and John Peto.
MM — What motivates you? RR — I am motivated by many things, including the need to speak through my paintings—to tell stories about ideas that are important to me. I am curious about many things in the world and I get a pleasure from trying to authentically and sincerely depict all that I learn.
My artwork is integral to being alive. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t “do art” and have always expressed myself through art. I have a picture of me holding a painting completed when only five years old, and I completed my first “real” oil painting at thirteen. I am an engineer by trade and am in the martial arts, but art has always just been there—a part of me, no matter what else is going on.
MM — Are there core elements that present themselves in all of your work, regardless of subject or media? RR — In a broad sense, I am always interested in the phenomenon of the spiritual. By that I mean the physical world and how it “works”. Science and engineering have always fascinated me and that shows up in my work. The spiritual side can bring out the passion, the angst and the love for this gift of life. Humbly I pray that that shows up in my work.
My work always includes strong subjects and themes, and uses the object to express the ideas, I’ve nothing against non-objective work; it is just that my soul expresses itself by portraying a scene, or an object, or an image – then modifying it to express my needs and passion. There must be a connection between the subject matter of a painting I’m creating and my feelings and attitudes about that subject.
MM — What are you trying to achieve in your latest work? RR — Typical of a Post-Modern artist (joking), I am working on five different fronts right now; the story of Job, driving in Southern California, still lifes, plein-air work, and bread.
I’ll elaborate on driving in Southern California. I’ve given thought to the rather simple notion that I spent a lot of time in my car. Much of my daily visual reality is what I see when driving. So my latest project is an effort to depict what I am seeing every day from the driver’s seat. The focus on this project has really opened my eyes. We absorb so much visual material, minute by minute, that we become numb to it all. Now that I’ve slowed down to try to really see what’s in front of me in order to properly tell a story, I find it amazing to see what flies in front of our eyes of a regular basis. I plan to spend a lot of time on this subject.
In general, I want to be more expressive and thoughtful about my work. When I was younger, it seemed as though I couldn’t wait to pick up a brush and get an idea splashed out onto canvas. In the past couple of years, I find that more detailed sketching, note taking and planning are extremely important to the quality of the end product. As a result, my studio practice is more comprehensive. I spend a lot of time collecting data either from the internet or magazines, paper, or text books. I take a lot of photos of the work in progress and make comments regarding my likes, dislikes and things to keep—as well as things to change.
MM — Are you planning any upcoming shows? RR — Yes, I will have two works in the Artist Showcase VII in Costa Mesa at the Crew Salon in the Lab (2930 Bristol Street). The reception will be March 15th from 6-10 p.m. I also have an upcoming show in May in Palm Springs.
