Plein air painter displays work inspired by COVID-19 journal entries

Gallery-goers at "Beauty Unites Us" Exhibition 

An installation view of the exhibit “Beauty Unites Us” by artist Rick J. Delanty.

By LA Times OC Section Staff

May 19, 2021 

Artist Rick J. Delanty’s solo exhibit “Beauty Unites Us” is on view through June 6 at Casa Romantica.

The exhibit features 24 recent paintings, including works painted during the pandemic and onsite. The solo show is inspired by the artist’s journal entries from March 2020. Delanty focuses on landscape paintings of San Clemente, Orange County and across the United States.

“What I think viewers will see when they come here is light and energy, and the impressionistic style in which I’ve worked,” said Delanty in a video interview. “What I’m hoping is that will convey to them the positive feelings that I have about the state of the world today. That it’s not all doom and gloom, but definitely that there are places where we can find beauty if we just look for them.”

The artist taught for 32 years at San Clemente High School and got his start in fine arts when Joan Irvine Smith invited him to art invitationals. Since then, he has participated in the Laguna Beach Invitational, a local plein air event, for 13 consecutive years.

Rick Delanty painting plein air in Laguna Beach

A close up of three works by Rick J. Delanty at Casa Romantica.

“Rick J. Delanty is one of the most accomplished plein air painters working in southern California today. In fact, several of the most prestigious collections of California Impressionist art held by individuals and foundations in southern California also include works by Rick J. Delanty — oftentimes his are the only works made by a living artist among early 20th-century heavy hitters like William Wendt, Granville Redmond and Edgar Payne,” said Executive Director Amy Behrens in a statement.

He was the first visual artist to be featured in a solo show at Casa Romantica in 2013 and is Casa Romantica’s spring 2021 artist in residence, hosting dinners, demonstrations and workshops. His last event at Casa Romantica will take place on May 26 where he will paint onsite along with other local artists. Exhibition will continue through June 6th.

If you go

What: “Beauty Unites Us”
Where: 415 Avenida Granada, San Clemente
When: Tuesday through Thursday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cost: General admission $5, free for children ages 12 and under, active military and members; free admission for all ages on the first Sunday of every month
Info: www.casaromantica.org

In the Lord’s House

36x36, oil (Trestles Beach, San Diego County, CA)

Beauty of Love

In 2000, at the turn of the millennium, I was in Israel as part of a tour of the Holy Land.

Being in that place at that time turned my mind toward the history of the Bible, and the realization that I was walking precisely where Jesus had walked upon the earth as a man, serving other men in a mortal body, and transforming them with miracles that were the manifestation of His love for them.

It’s difficult for my mind to comprehend: that the Son of God would take the form of human flesh, to come to men to serve and save them. The only answer to why He would do this is because He loved them. Jesus Christ shared his life unselfishly in the service of others, be they rich or poor, Jew or Gentile, male or female. Jesus was a leader who was also a servant. Servant-leaders that we acknowledge today for their compassion for humanity would certainly include Mahatma Ghandi, Billy Graham, Helen Keller, Eric Liddell, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, and Mother Teresa. For myself, I can think of many friends and those I know who are serving the world with their love, their lives and their sacrifices. How beautiful are the results of their caring, compassion, and loving words and actions! Men, women and children are lifted up, comforted, and supported in renewing their own lives.

This painting was created as a tribute to one of those servant-leaders, for his memorial service and celebration of life. Steve was a pastor who encouraged, exhorted, understood, and emphasized how important it is to love one another on this earth. For him, I painted one of my favorite places on earth, under the mantel of heaven, while imagining him with the Lord.

Steve blessed so many—now he himself is being blessed, in all ways.

What would it be like to be in The Perfect Place? I believe Steve knows.

“One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple.”

                                                                                                             –Psalm 27:4

Komorebi

(inspired by the Japanese word to describe light on objects, as filtered through tree branches).

 20x24, acrylic (Sedona, AZ)

Beauty is a Universal Language.

No matter what country we find ourselves in this day and age, we can experience the meaning of what it truly means to be alive, by sensing the beauty around us. This is one of the primary reasons that national and state parks are not just a pleasant amenity, but necessary for human appreciation. Niagara Falls certainly has the power to inspire. We can experience the stimulation, contemplation, and re-creation with nature that isolation actually enables, because it removes distraction and connects us directly with the universe.

In Japanese, "Shinrin-yoku" is a term used to describe the relaxation gained from being in nature. It is a therapy that was developed in Japan during the 1980s, becoming a cornerstone of preventive health care and healing in Japanese medicine. For self-preservation and inspiration, it would be truly beautiful if every culture had such a word, and practice.

“Sometimes it's the air, sometimes it's the smell. Sometimes it's the sound of water, sometimes it's the stillness. It's tapping into the transcendent, and teaching your heart to see it, and making your eyes and hands express it that creates transcendent paintings.” --Gil Dellinger