Richard Chalfant Items

Richard Chalfant

Richard Chalfant is currently being featured as one of three artists included in a group exhibition entitled, Dually Noted: 3 Chester County Artists Present Their Paintings & Share The Stories Behind Them. Rich is a featured artist in our gallery and has been painting the Chester County area for over 30 years. More recently, he has painted the Grand Canyon as an artist in residence and Maui where he resides part-time.  You can read his biography to learn more about his experiences.  Below we have assembled his available works under a single exhibition category.  Enjoy!

Painted at sunset in haying season, the days work is done.  John Deere is parked for the night and the haystacks await tomorrows hauling.

Sea meets land, waves roll to shore breaking in direction and size.  This is a study in transparency, movement, and reflection.

The stream continues to flow through this timeless landscape.  Abiah Taylor who built the barn c. 1710 would feel perfectly at ho,me in the present landscape. 

A study in gradation of blue and transparency of tidal pools.  This conveys a somewhat quiet moment but that can change quickly resulting in a salt bath.

The bridge over the Brandywine frames this late afternoon landscape.  The human built environment frame the natural world.  The sycamore in the foreground seems to have the last say in the matter. 

This is a meditation on change and impermanence.  Water always moves, transforming.  Not one drop falls exactly the same. 

I remember this great old gnarled survivor from when I was a kid.  On the edge of fields partially shrouded in vines and weeds he bears testimony to change, surviving lighting, high winds, heavy snow and the ax. 

A sultry summer afternoon deepens in color as a brief thunder storm blows through.  A harbinger of future development in this beautiful valley.

It is time to put aside small matters for the big picture.

A reflection on longevity.  Standing since the founding of Pennsylvania this giant has stood witness to our founding fathers and their descendants.  Humphrey Marshall once owned the land.

Painted during an unusual snow storm in October.  A visual surprise of snow on fall color.  Also, being a nocturne the colors are subtle. 

This piece was initiated for a plein air event in early Fall.  The weather is the story with high winds, rain, thunder and lighting which finally chased me to cover.  I had to return in similar conditions to finish at a later date.

This image focuses on the earliest part of Longwood.  The 1730’s Peirce house and original arboretum.  These ancient trees so tall they seem to cling to the sky as much as an anchor to earth.

A wonderful old fashioned garden.  An impressionist dream, how would Monet paint this garden?

Based on Chinese Daoist painting, the figure contemplates the space between heaven and earth. The sea, vast, powerful and unbreakable.  A time to consider where the path will lead. 

When presented for the idea for this show the 3 artists quickly agreed to work together on a single Chester County motif.  It seemed only right to choose the view of Valley Creek from the north end of Connor Road, a view many other local artists have found worthy of attention.  Our artists agreed to meet at the spot on a Monday morning.  The “Nature” of the area was...

The hunter sometimes become the prey.  An observation an aggression and cooperation along the path. 

Evoking Monet’s Morning on Seine, this painting is all about the light and atmosphere.  Water reflects the light in the distance and creates the contrast of cool and warm. 

Enveloped in darkness the night fisher listens to the sea pound the rocks and feels the ground shake with the weight of the surf.  The ocean spray washes away the thoughts of the day.  There is stillness in this place.

The Massey Plantation at the White Horse. A great landmark collection of buildings, walls, their relationships to each other are a result of centuries of building naturally in the landscape.

This was my reward for setting up an easel before sunrise at point lookout.  The colors filtering through fog were amazing.  Throw in an early whitewashed barn reflecting the morning sky and you have magic.

Is collecting a simple pleasure or an all consuming obsession?  The collector is facinated and entranced with beauty.  The secret is knowing when to let the fire fly go. 

A streaming burst of energy through the atmosphere.  A whimsical study on dynamics or an arabesque.  

Over looking abundant fields of wildflowers an old Quaker home stands quietly on a knoll simple but elegant.

A day at the beach, bathers crowded together. The humans are facing the sea.  The gull with his back to the sea finds human activity more interesting. 

This nocturne illustrates a moment when a quiet boating party’s serenity is suddenly rocked. The once peaceful night sky explodes with fireworks and merrymaking.

Someone is always quietly observing.

The perfect 18th Century farmstead view through a hedgerow on the crest at the hill.  This conveys peace and continuance in a cozy little valley far from the sprawl.  

This piece was initiated for a plein air event in early Fall.  The weather is the story with high winds, rain, thunder and lighting which finally chased me to cover.  I had to return in similar conditions to finish at a later date.

One of my favorite views.  Atmosphere transitions from dapled light in the foreground to the haze of distant hills.

Plein air painting offers the opportunity to appreciate everything in nature.  Different times of the day changes the light and the experience.  Painted along Brandywine, this painting brings together the frolic and majesty of nature as I experienced it.

One of the best tools a painter can have is a pick up truck.  Several days I worked from my portable “studio” in the late Spring in the early evening to capture this family of deer as they came out to graze.

Painted along the coastline of Cliff Island off the coast of Maine, this oil on canvas captures the eastern shore at its best.

A sophisticated examination of depth and color in a composition that draws you in and allows for your eye to discover.