Gay Summer Rick

Follow the Sun is an exhibition of palette knife oil paintings that draw from the quiet vibration, beauty and drama of color and light as the sun moves across the sky from sunrise to sunset, in the city and by the sea, with changing atmospheric conditions. The dreamlike yet familiar landscapes are heavily influenced by environmental conditions – moments captured on a crystal-clear day, in dense fog, or swirling with smoke from wildfire or pollution.

White light from the sun is comprised of all colors of the rainbow. The science of light explains why we see different colors under various conditions. During the day the sky generally appears blue to gray-white, and during sunset or sunrise looking toward the sun the sky can be red, orange, or yellow. This is because light waves that appear as color to our eyes hold different properties. Blue light waves are short and scatter easily. When the sun is above us - closer to us, the sky appears blue. Yellow and red light waves are long and not easily scattered so when the sun is farther away from us as it is at the horizon, the sky can appear yellow, orange, or red.

“City of Angels” is a painting that sizzles with heat as the sun begins to rise in Los Angeles. Red, orange, and yellow light waves pass through the heavy urban atmosphere. “Into White” takes the viewer along with a jet landing in cool, dense fog. The sky is blue-white as all the light waves are being scattered away by water droplets in the atmosphere. In the painting “Phenomenon”, which depicts a natural occurrence that takes place twice a year at several locations in New York City when the sun sets directly between the buildings, the setting sun, close to the horizon, gives off a yellow and orange glow. “Stand By” with its deep pink cast takes the viewer to the runways at Los Angeles International Airport at the end of sunset, the sky is thick with atmospheric particles and the red light waves penetrate the dense layers from the distant sun.

The exhibition invites the viewer to immerse themselves in the atmospheric nuances of color, contemplate the color of light, reflect on the feeling of watching a golden sunrise, looking toward the sun on the bright blue-sky day, and gazing at a blood orange sunset, and serve as a reminder to stop, look up at the sky for a moment and revel in the wonders of color and light.