Self taught American visionary

Albert Pinkham Ryder unfortunately did not use sound painting techniques. At the time of their creation his works were described as glowing like jewels, filled with inner light. Most of them now only hint towards their original presence.

Using kerosene and bacon fat as mediums is not advisable. He would glaze over wet paint and then paint back over the glaze. Many of his works have turned black, cracked beyond repair, even slowly slid off their canvas backings.

Hailed as a precursor of modern art, Ryder was one of the few Americans exhibited in the infamous 1913 Armory Show, which introduced new European ideas of art of an incredulous American public.

I was fortunate enough to be exposed to several key Ryder paintings in Washington DC museums while I was growing up. His luminosity haunts my paintings to this day.