Artist Spotlight – Tony Richardson

Tony Richardson is a self-taught artist whose realistic work is done in oil and graphite, through techniques he learned from books and online. He started at a very young age. “I’ve always created art,” he said.

“There was a Little Golden Book about Daniel Boone, and the artwork really impressed me,” Tony said. This book captured his young mind with its earthy colors and started him on his artistic journey.  Tony would copy illustrations in newspaper comics and picture book illustrations. “I still have that Little Golden Book with Daniel Boone,” he said.

Tony was raised in Lexington and moved to Nicholasville in 1978. His wife, Debbie, is frequently found at the Art Center and is originally from Danville. The two moved to the Herrington Lake area in 2019.

After a lifetime of making art, Tony decided to get more serious about it in 2006. After prolific work in his teens, Tony set aside his art to raise a family. “In 2006, I decided I’m going to get back to it.” Tony works primarily in oil and graphite, and some colored pencil. He learned the techniques by reading books about art, and when the internet became available, he turned to YouTube for instructional videos. 

Portraits are favorite subjects for Tony. He captures realistic details of his subjects that range from young to old. “I love doing them.” He works from candid snapshots of people, capturing a moment in their lives. A snapshot of his grandson waiting for the school bus is now a painting hanging in the studio. He plans to learn more about photography so he can create dramatic lighting to produce the effects he is looking for with his portrait work.

Tony joined the Art Center’s studio artist program in December of last year. “This has been the best place I’ve ever been,” he said of his studio space at the center. “It gives me the opportunity to get my work out and be seen.” Tony uses his studio space as a showroom, with paintings and drawings lining the walls and pieces displayed on easels. He keeps a graphite piece in progress at the Art Center so he can dabble while he greets visitors. “I really enjoy meeting people, talking to people.”

While Tony still does the majority of his painting in his home studio, he said having a place to display his work has really paid off. “I have sold more art since last December than I have in my entire life, from being here.” Tony enjoys being retired and has plenty of projects around his home that take him away from his painting. But that’s okay with him. “I don’t want to get so busy with art that it becomes a job. Being an artist and trying to make money, that’s not part of it for me.” He keeps his prices low so people can afford to purchase his work. “I’d much rather somebody has it and enjoys it.”

Tony’s work can be found in his studio on the second floor at 401 W. Main Street in Danville. He also has work featured in Fern Curated Gifts, at 409 W. Main Street.