Rick Dickinson grew up in West Sand Lake, New York, where he first painted as a teenager. Fast forward to 2007 when, after enjoying a successful career as an executive in the construction industry, he returned to his love of oil painting on a full time basis. 

Dickinson has a goal, to refine his craft, to be the best painter he can possible be when he eventually tips over. To put it much more audaciously, the goal is to develop to the point that he could be considered one of the next generation of painters to become as skillful as a member of the group from the past called “The Ten.” In the early 1900’s “The Ten” were 10 American painters who defined the pinnacle of American painting  and craftsmanship.

 “I know  this goal is not realistic. It’s language to visualize a desired level of skill. It’s the rabbit in a greyhound race,” said Dickinson. “It’s a goal that can’t be reached but maintains the momentum to continue the chase, day in, day out.

Among “The Ten” were the founders of what has become a painting style known as the Boston School of Drawing and Painting. “The Ten” comprised of both the finest painters in America and instructors from the Museum School at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Mass. Presently on display at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston are the works of “The Ten” including Frank W. Benson, William McGregor Paxton, Joseph Rodefer DeCamp, and Edmund C. Tarbell.

Boston School Painting is not simply an act of artistic expression. It is the culmination of the development of artistic craftsmanship refined by the great masters of Europe over the centuries since the renaissance and, more specifically, the amalgamation of the Impressionists treatment and knowledge of color with the academics fine rendering. 

“There comes a time when change is just going to happen. It may not be part of any grand plan or completely thought through beforehand. It just happens,” said Dickinson. “My work has changed greatly as I have moved from the expressive freedom and highly chromatic work of the Cape School of Impressionism to the beautiful and thoroughly rendered form of impressionism in the tradition of the Boston School.

“The joy comes from the attempt to create with spots of colored oil the impression that nature provides, the smash of light, the atmosphere, the season, modified by the time of day and weather. The appeal is that the results never fully meet the objective, and I hope the two never meet because then the learning may stop and the game may be over."

Rick and his wife Pandora maintain an oceanfront home and studio on Southport Island, Maine.

Join them on First Friday, July 6 between 3-6 p.m. or the Art Walk (or in this case, drive), 38 Beacon Hill Rd. Directions: Route 27 south to Southport; cross the swing bridge, turn right on to Beacon Hill Road  just past Robinson’s Wharf. But be forewarned: the studio is located at the waterfront. Parking is at the top of the hill. There is a long stairway between the two.