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Bio

Richard Bryant painted many subjects – he lived his entire life in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of southwest Virginia and almost every day was an opportunity for an afternoon of painting along with a little streamside angling – and in the fall some grouse hunting. For a period he lived on a farm in Botetourt County. His pencil drawings and oils of the surrounding orchard and pasture land and Charolaise cattle are some of the most sensitive and original interpretations of Virginia foothill pastoral life that you can find anywhere. Richard liked outdoor activities of all sorts, taught by an Old World “professional poacher” to hunt, he spent a lot of time in the woods. But his father had taught him to fish at a young age, and when he caught a beautiful red snapper around age 10 he was hooked – literally. He was a fisherman. There were a great many excursions to the mountain trout streams and to the James River for small mouth bass. But once he had a four- wheel drive, anytime he had a chance he would head for the Outer Banks – surf fishing from Hatteras to Ocracoke was his real home fishing spot. He also traveled the coastline on down to Florida and to the West Indian isles. He caught his share of fish, but it was the barrier islands' leeward isle aesthetic that was the great inspiration of his life – and his art.

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The Prints

The Art

Presented on this site is a collection of prints of pencil drawings that Richard did as a reminder of his last fishing trip and fishing trips to come. They capture all the fish species that Richard was after in his coastal wanderings. Most of the drawings were done for close friends who were along on these trips -- of whom many still hold the originals. These drawings were assembled and a digitized print edition was carefully produced with the expertise and assistance of Nick Mayer, a highly regarded New England sport artist. Now many people who like the aesthetic and energy of sport art and enjoy the subtle lifelike colors that pencil drawings can produce can have a wall of art to remind them of their last fishing trip and trips to come.

The high standards of the giclee printing process are observed in the production of each print. The prints were generated from high resolution digital scans of the original drawings at 400 ppi for precise color and texture replication. The printing is at 2880 dpi using archival pigment-based (not dye based) inks to ensure accurate and long lasting color. The paper is Ivory tint, natural fiber cold press, heavy watercolor stock.

© 2024 by friends and family of Richard L. Bryant

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