Richard Scott - Naīve Meets Pop

Hello Richard, my name is Cannelle. I am a thirteen year old girl at a school in Rondebosch and I love your paintings!! At school we have been asked to do a painting on a canvas of a South African artist and I have chosen you. It is a project for 100 marks 50 marks for The practical and 50 marks for the painting. There are a few questions I need to ask you for my project.

1. Brief history of biographical details.
See attached documents for this.

2. How you became interested in art and your progression towards becoming a famous artist!
I have always drawn pictures and painted since I can remember. I have a painting above my desk I did in 1986. I never every thought it possible to be a famous artist one day. I use to envy some of the kids in art class at school.

I only took up art as a profession in 2001 when I sold my equity in my internet business to my partner and retired at age 35.

Salomien, my wife, and I decided to get married and have children. So we moved to Agulhas. Salomien asked how we were going to make money and keep ourselves busy as our money would not last forever. So I took some books with me and studied a bit of art and decided to tackle the art world. The first works I did I took to Hout Bay Gallery in 2002. They sold the works on the same day I took them in. Since then I have sold over 2000 paintings. My first work was sold in 2002 for R300. I bought it back last year December for R35000. I think it hit me then that I'd made it in this country. So now I'm tackling the international market.

3. Please discuss your styles, techniques and your preferred medium. What picture can I use to illustrate this?
My style is based on making money. Commercialize the art and you make lots of money. Its not about painting a picture and trying to sell it. You don't catch your own chickens and eat them. Chicken farming is a huge business who's primary goal is to make a profit. I adopt the same principles. I have 3 people working for me that do most of the work. I prefer to sit at my computer and strategise and spend time with my family. So my style is based on marketing and business. People love my art and I make money from that. You are welcome to come to my studio and I will show you how I operate and the dreams and legacies I want to leave behind when I'm dead.

My preferred medium at the moment is Acrylic and Impasto paste. I want to one day, get into sculpture in a big way.

4. Please discuss/mention your preferred subject matter eg: landscapes, portraits etc.
Trees, women, cats, cars, lighthouses.

5. Briefly discuss any exhibitions etc. held by the artist that have contributed to South Africa culture.
The culture in this country is very academic with a snotty bull shit approach by those who seemingly put themselves on pedestals. This is 2009, its a global economy. You cannot put yourself up on a pedestal and preach what the academics do in this Country. They will fall off there pedestals and I will be setting the pace of the new generation of artist who is focused on making money and helping other people out. I want to have a Richard Scott art competition, I want to run a factory and build 7 buildings across the world under the Richard Scott Art Foundation. Who else in this country is doing this, no living artist, not even the dead masters. So that will be my contribution to the culture change in South Africa in the future.

I look forward to hearing from you and thanks so much for helping me!!!

I trust this is ok. If not enough, let me know.

Richard

Email Dated 26 March 2009

To Richard

Thank you so much for our tour it was very enjoyable!! All my school friends loved it, some of the other girls were jealous that they never came!! Haha. Thanks also for all the stuff you give us it was very cool. I hope that your dream for those buildings that you said you wanted to build will come true!! Thanks again so much and hope you make lots of pictures and paintings in the future!! Hope also to come and help you some time in the holidays!!

From Cannelle :)

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