Richard Coons

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Richard Coons
"In my fifty years trying to capture the most difficult subject, which is the High Sierra, few artists have I ever seen come in to join me. The ones who did were there only briefly. Richard Coons is the only person worthy of my consideration. He has been willing to live, as I did, what he paints."
Robert Clunie about Richard Coons

Richard Coons first serious attempt at painting came in 1972, when he was asked by Bishop painter, Robert Clunie, to accompany him on a painting trip to Lake George. Clunie suggested that Richard bring his own painting equipment. The experience was so emotional for Coons, to be out painting with Robert Clunie, that those three days literally launched his painting career. He was in heaven, even though the painting turned out badly. After the first attempt he immediately did a second, and a third, and so on - he painted continuously; stopping for the first time, 19 years later, to write a book about Clunie.

Clunie was Coons' mentor for 15 years until his death in 1984. Coons bought Clunie's studio-home and has since carried on the Sierra Nevada painting tradition at Coons Gallery. The subject of an upcoming biography, Richard Coons operated the gallery since 1985 and lived his entire life in Bishop amid the unparalleled grandeur of the highest mountains in the 48 states. As an artist, he was trained in the rich tradition of the California plein-air school and presented these mountains as no one else had.

GICLEE prints available exclusively from Coons Gallery

Mt. Tom by Richard Coons
Currently sold out

Owens Valley Autumn by Richard Coons
Currently sold out