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Show Weber State artist Richard Van Wagoner created this watercolor, "Last Exitin New Jersey," i n 1986. The painting is part ofa series of 70 pieces of highway art | that the artist began working on over five years ago. of American much money in art,” he said. To complete one painting will take him anywhere from 40 to 80 hours, depending on what’s involved, but for the artist the hardest part is not the painting, but deciding what feeling to portray and how best to show that emotion. “Some ideas I just struggle and struggle with, but they never happen,” he said. And some works, even though backed by a good idea, never find their way to a - finished form on canvas. “Painting is very frustrating. You get . excited about the expectations, and then ~ something happens as you work to destroy those expectations, and if you make a mistake with a water color you cannot just "Under the Sixth Street Bridge" was created by Van Wagoner during 1986. It depicts a highway scene in Salt Lake City. jchard Van Wagoner enjoys traveling, particularly on the freeway. But it is not the driving, but the drawing of the freeways that most attracts this artist’s interests. “There isn’t anything more American or that has more involvement than freeways. It’s something we all do, and we certainly feel something in common with the freeways,” Van Wagoner said. Over the last five years the new chairman of Weber State’s art department has created over 70 paintings of America’s highways. His paintings capture the power that the roads portray and point out some thoughtful aspects of what has come to be a normal part of U.S. culture. “I respond to it—the patterns, the design, the power of that system. It’s visually ‘interesting to me.” “The message is simple,” he added. “This, now, is the way it is in America. It Says something about our life. The paint- ings are nota social commentor a political Statement. This is just life.” Each painting is inspired by actual locations. As Van Wagoner is driving on the freeways in New Jersey, Utah or anyplace in between, a certain structure, or the way light plays on the cars and roads, will attract the artist’s attention. A camera records the site, and later, in his studio, he will add or delete items in order to best depict the feelings he is trying to show. “I don’t just copy photos. I’ll dissect the picture and take something within and emphasize it,” said Van Wagoner. “A lot of my paintingsare of ugly things, but they have some beauty if you look for it—the large, powerful structures of cement, the automobiles themselves.” Van Wagoner started painting when he was in junior high “because I was good at it and I got a pat on the back for doing it. Since then I’ve found you have to be content with the pat on the back. There’s not correct it. You just throw it away and start over again,” he said. The trick is to create a work that pleases the artist and is favorably received by the public, something that rarely happens, he noted. “We want people to like what we do, but there are no guarantees. When someone says an artwork is ugly we feel bad, and that can destroy an artist who has put a lot of work into it. If somebody says that about my works I respond, ‘What do they know, anyway,’” he said. On the other hand, he doesn’t want people to think he draws “pretty little paintings.” “There’s a force in the painting that isa part of life,” Van Wagoner said. His highway artwork has won a number of awards, and he has been featured at the Salt Lake Art Center, in the Water Color U.S.A. show and in many other exhibits across the country. “Why do I paint? Originally I hoped it was for the money, but that has not happened. I sure have a lot of paintings around. I’ve thought about having a garage sale,” he quipped. “I guess I do it because I want to, whetherI sell them or not. Painting makes me feel important. It’s taken a long time, butI feel likeI have some successes now,” he said. Van Wagonersaid his paintings emphasize the power and strength of automobiles, and of the freeways they travelon. This painting of " Passing Under" was inspired bya freeway in Louisville, Ky. and hangs in the artist's living room. 7 highways hc eieaainaaLeaaiboe power nani Art captures |