Meet Richard Kattman

Today we’d like to introduce you to Richard Kattman.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Richard. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Art and landscape architecture as combined professions began for me in 1970, attending Rhode Island School of Design’s summer session as a transfer student with a degree in horticulture. Two years work experience in site planning/civil engineering, rounded out my early career.

A fantastic and inspirational drawing professor and mentor, Mahler Ryder set me on course with a love of figure drawing. Simultaneously, an artist friend introduced me to the muse, abstract painting. With a family to provide for after graduation, for several years landscape architecture provided a creative outlet for my artistic ambitions and paid the bills.

Something was missing! A physical pressure in my mind and arms steered me constantly toward painting. But I did not know how to paint or draw properly. Photography became my first endeavor to conquer the arts. I learned to see and compose while wandering summers at Tappen”s Beach on the Atlantic Ocean with an 8×10 view camera.

Mastering the camera, I became disillusioned with mechanical results, so moved on. A three-year apprenticeship constantly drawing and painting from the figure satisfied my passions and opened the possibilities to painting in abstraction.

Abstract painting is my passion. From the earliest works completed in the 1980s, I hit upon some works I knew instinctively was good. As Harry Callahan at RISD always said, “there are no rules to Art, but it must be good”. It took a good ten years to get control of the paint, to learn how to paint, and to learn what painting is about.

Somewhere in that ten years, I lost track and made little progress, chalking it up to the learning process. For a long time, I thought the world of fame and fortune would be mine effortlessly. With a full to an overflowing portfolio of paintings, drawings, and photographs, marketing took on great urgency.

Subsequently, I joined two galleries, Fountain Street Fine Art and Galatea Fine Art, and began a series of many ongoing solo and group exhibitions with various galleries and arts institutions.

Currently, my art is represented by Providence Art Club, www.providenceartclub.org; Gallery Blink, www.galleryblink.com; and Saatchi Art, Los Angeles, www.saatchiart/kattman. These relationships are invaluable, leading to great friendships, considerable sales in the US and internationally, and artistic recognition.

Artist Residences are my refuge and environmental influences at present, including La Macina di San Cresci, Tuscany, Italy, 2015 and 2018; Brush Creek, Wyoming, May 2017; and Fruitlands Museum, 2014.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Self-doubt and materials costs for painting large are constant conditions, at least in my world.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
As an Artist, my art comprises abstract and landscape paintings, figure/portrait paintings and drawings, and 35mm/view camera photography. Abstract painting is my passion. My work is known for its positive energies and bold gestures/ coloring based on landscape, place influences.

As a landscape architect, I practice professionally with concentrations in public and private projects. The practice consists of urban design, planning, commercial, industrial, recreation/open space, and fine residential projects.

The best-known project is the award-winning Cambridge Center Roof Garden, atop the MIT COOP/ parking garage at Kendall Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

What sets me apart as an artist and landscape architect are my unique creative abilities, design ingenuity, follow through on ideas to fruition, and making of remarkable images/landscape spaces.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Hard work and a stick to it attitude have caused my life and business to thrive and prosper. Luck comes as a result of these efforts to succeed.

Contact Info:

• Address: 24 Water Street, Suite 4-16, Holliston, Massachusetts 01746
• Website: www.crichardkattman.com www.saatchiart.com/kattman http://www.galleryblink.com/richard-kattman/
• Phone: 5088936232
• Email: richard.kattman@gmail.com
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/rkattman
• Other: www.houzz.com/pro/richardkattman

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