Reality, with An Abstract Twist

Bogwater Jim

Lafayette, NJ 07848

973-383-6057

Richard Kapral's paintings are like New Year's Day...everyday, all year long. Ordinary subjects are seen with a fresh eye. The colors are alive. The compositions are quirky and, no matter how many times I study them, I always find a surprise that makes the painting new, all over again.

For example, "Windowledge" (pictured) is a "view" for the viewer. The outside world lies on the other side. We must look through. The landscape sometimes seems somber. At other times...dramatic, as if a storm is moving in, while we are safe inside, looking out. In certain light, the painting is playful and all about the friendly objects inside, with peaches rolling along the bottom edge, about to fall off.

I guess Richard's paintings are like life itself...reality at the whim of perception. It's all in the way we look at things.