Minding Your Business-Robert Ryan Art

“The whole process is about exploration,” said artist Robert Ryan, owner of Robert Ryan Art gallery in South Chatham. “Most of the paintings come about through accident and chance. It starts one way then by chance it starts to go another way. The painting almost always leads me to a discovery rather than me directing it.” For artist Robert Ryan, the Cape Cod landscape is less something to reproduce on canvas than something to interpret through memory, imagination and color.

Ryan, who grew up in Newton, spent many years living in California before eventually returning to Cape Cod about 15 years ago to Brewster. He is known for vibrant, colorful paintings that he describes as abstract works and “interpretive seascapes.” His paintings are not intended to be realistic representations of the Cape. Instead, they capture the feeling of the landscape through bold color, movement, texture and imagination.

The Cape has provided plenty of inspiration. Ryan and his wife frequently explore the area, including beaches, taking in sunsets and the constantly changing skies and water. But he doesn’t paint directly from what he sees — or even from photographs.

“I never work on site, and I never work from a picture directly,” he said. “It all just comes out of my mind.”

That imaginative approach is very evident in Ryan’s abstract work. He often begins a painting without knowing what it will ultimately become.

“I never know what I’m going to finish with when I start,” he said. “I just start putting on colors and shapes, and then the painting tells me where to go, rather than me telling the painting.”

Ryan often works on three or four paintings at once, moving between pieces as his ideas develop. If he becomes stuck on one painting, he’ll set it aside and work on something completely different before returning to it.

“I’ll do something completely different,” he said. “I’ll be working on a big abstract and I’m not sure of the direction. So then I’ll do a seascape. It mixes it up.” 

The process can take days. Even when a painting appears finished, Ryan will step back, study it and sometimes make significant changes. I asked Ryan how he knows in his heart when a work is completed.

“It has to speak to me for it to be complete,” Ryan said. “If I’m unclear I will ask my wife her opinion on it. If I have a painting that sticks around for a few years, I will make adjustments and sometimes paint over it completely with a totally different approach. Very few paintings are safe from being reworked.”

One thing that struck him after returning from California was how dramatically the light and sky change from day to day.

“I lived in San Diego, where it’s the most perfect weather, but the sky is like the same all the time,” he said. “The sky is never the same here. Every day is different.”

That ever-changing light has become a recurring influence on his work, whether he is painting a seascape or creating something entirely abstract.

Ryan’s work is intentionally different from the more traditional Cape Cod art found in many galleries. He said he enjoys creating paintings that surprise people. He even has a series of works called the “Lefty Series.” This was borne out of an accident where Ryan broke his painting wrist and had to teach himself to paint left-handed.

This individuality is important to Ryan, who considers himself something of a nonconformist.

“I like that my work stands on its own,” he said.

Ryan also recently contributed a 12-by-12-inch painting to a large fundraising art auction for the Provincetown Art Association and Museum. The fundraiser featured works by more than 100 artists, with proceeds benefiting a charitable cause.

Robert Ryan Art is open Wednesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and also by appointment. The space in the gallery is bright and filled with light. Quotations from famous artists are scattered throughout the warm space and there is plenty of room to browse and sit and immerse yourself in the space. Although Ryan doesn’t currently sell his paintings through an online store, he does ship his work to buyers across the country. He prefers that people experience his work and his inviting gallery in person.

Ultimately Ryan’s artistic focus remains simple: “I want to just paint,” he said.

2624 Main St., Chatham

774-722-1280

robertryanart@gmail.com 

rryanart.com