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This is who we are
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Don Ripper
I spend time seeking out stimulating life experiences to paint. Most frequently I
paint in plein-air along the back roads and coastal towns of the east.
Although my
roots are in realism, I rely on a painterly vocabulary that asks the viewer for an
emotional connection.
Inspired by Abbott Thayer, Juels Sabastian-Lapage and
Lucian Freud, I seek a balance between emotion, tone, and a self directed voice.
Artist Statement
I can't remember a time when I did not paint. Painting to please my mom.
Painting to woo a girl. Painting to bring out a mood. Now, I mostly paint to better
understand what I am looking at, why it moves me, and to solidify my relationship
with it.
My process is open ended: direct observation, drawing, tone, temperature, and
the movement of paint form the basis of my paintings. My goal is to commit
myself to a process that will always force me to discover and nurture my
relationship with the subject through the application of paint. My paintings will
find their truth as long as I paint honestly and avoid tricks.
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Jeff Erickson
Growing up as a foreign service kid, I was fortunate to live and travel all over the world. I was exposed to art and culture that has helped shape the person and artist I am today. Being immersed in cultures other than your own, makes you pay attention a little bit more to your surroundings.
At one point, I thought I would become an architect. I loved seeing cityscapes and landscapes around the world. Studying art and architectural history in college, reaffirmed my desire to be surrounded by art in some form.
I have always had the entrepreneurial spirit in me as well. While in college, I owned a landscaping business with a good friend. So, it was no surprise, when I finished college at George Mason University, I would be drawn to the idea of starting my own business as a career. I had known Don since high school, we ran in similar circles and were in a band together during college. It just so happened that we both finished school at the same time, and were contemplating our next step in life. It was a natural progression to go into business together.
Fast forward to today, after 18 years of being in business, it gives me great pleasure getting to know our clients, share experiences, and help frame their treasures they have collected. On any given day, I get to see art of all kinds from all over the world, and come up with fantastic ways to preserve and display them. It certainly inspires me in my own art, which has been shaped immensely by all that I see.
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Curt Smith
Curt Smith was born in 1956 during the harshest winter in South Carolina history. Raised by a pack of benevolent wolves, he shortly relocated to Birmingham, Al. Spending his summers catching rattle snakes on the grounds of the "Red Stone Arsenal" in Huntsville and after receiving the finest eduction possible in the Alabama public school system, he graduated 533rd in a class of 276.
Not much is known of the ensuing years. He was spotted in Arles, France in the summer of 1976 where he passed the time at a cafe engaged in spirited philosophical arguments with a short, paint spattered, red haired Dutchman missing the lower part of one ear who spurred his interest in art. Months later after somhow managing to elude interpol agents he reentered the United States and began attending art school in NY City. Shortly thereafter, he entered into a contract w/ the metropolitan museum of Art where it was agreed that each canvas he submitted to them would immediately be torn from its stretcher and burned. After a one man show the NY Times critics enthusiastically reviewed as "amateurish" and vial, Mr. Smith began a career as a framer.
Working intensely for five years, he took a short sabbatical to participate in the losing side of the Falklands War (1982). Returning once again to NY CIty he recorded "You'll get Young" with Frank Sinatra for the "Duet's Album." (It was left off the final album release, as Sinatra remarked later on, "It kind of overshadowed the rest of the track") SInce then, Mr. Smith has single mindedly pursued his framing career.
In his spare time his hobbies include: extinguishing oil well fires, petitioning the TSA to take him off the no fly list, and maintaining a serious crush on the "next" Food Networks star finalist Lisa Garza.
James Curtis Smith was born January 6th 1956, in Greenville S.C. and raised in Birmingham Al. He moved to Va. in 1969 in the early 1980's he was included in a number of shows in Alexandria. A few of his paintings are now scattered around the country. He has framed art for over 30 years. His single greatest achievement is his daughter Claire, who recently made him a grandfather. He did indeed spend the summer of 1976 in France studying art. He never has met Frank Sinatra although he wishes he had.
