December 2009

Bonaire Sunset
Sunsets are beautiful when water is involved, a theme that is recurring in my images. Here I have tried to represent a sunset in the summer months at the northern end of the Caribbean island of Bonaire, with Mount Brandaris silhouetted against the sun, and dark yet reflective ocean in the foreground.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Brain Coral
Nature creates wonderful patterns, and in the ocean some of the most incredible patterns can be found in soft and hard corals. There are several species of brain coral, aptly named because their meandering crests resemble the appearance of the exterior of a mammal’s brain. However, to me, the most amazing thing is that a coral’s colors are actually the result of a separate organism – zooxanthellae – a type of algae which lives in symbioses with the coral. So, this image represents both the simplicity of a natural and random pattern and the complexity of the interrelationship of multiple life forms.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Green Turtle
Sea turtles, while being incredibly graceful underwater and clumsy on land, are at the same time an oddity – a marine reptile. In the waters around Bonaire, where I live, turtles are not abundant, but due to various legal protections and a local conservation group their numbers are at least stable. However, it is always a thrill to swim with one, and this image is based on time I spent snorkeling with a green turtle in Bonaire’s beautiful waters.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Bromeliad Blossoms
Many of us see bromeliads on a regular basis – pineapples, for example. However most don’t realize that bromeliads come in a variety of colors. I found this incredibly richly colored bromeliad in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the tropical gardens of the excellent Chattanooga Aquarium, but what really caught my attention were the bromeliad “babies” forming in the midst of the water-filled interior of the parent bromeliad. The brightness and contrast of the colors of the leaves, blossoms, and reflection of the water were captivating, and also difficult to represent properly.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Bullfrog
Often heard, but rarely seen, bullfrogs are both beautiful and ugly at the same time. Some of their ugliness stems more from stories and fairytales, although arguably, on the flip side, Kermit the Frog made frogs cute. One evening while at a pond in New Hampshire, I caught a bullfrog, and decided to do a detailed study of it, as seen here. The complexity of the eye, combined with the odd appearance of the tympanic membrane (ear) is contrasted by the rich green and brown color of the bullfrog.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink. Print area includes some extra white space in this particular print.

Butterfly on Pink Daisy
A visit to a farmer’s market in Nashville, Tennessee, inspired this image, when I spotted a butterfly feeding on blossom of what appeared to be a pink daisy in the floral and garden section of the market. What intrigued me about the scene I saw was the plain appearance of the butterfly in contrast with the vivid colors of the bloom it sat upon.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Boy meets Fish
We were visiting the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, and while my son was watching the wildlife in their giant aquarium tank, this fish, formerly known as a Jewfish, and now renamed a Goliath Grouper, took an interest in my son. They both hovered in their respective positions for quite some time, cautiously observing each other. Perhaps each was considering the other as a viable food source?

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Feeding Hummingbird
Hummingbirds should perhaps better be named “Hoverbirds” due to their ability to hover in place – a skill that is necessary to feed on the nectar of blossoms with their long tongues, which in turn are inside long beaks. This image is based on a hummingbird I saw in the mountains of Costa Rica.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Kayak on Placid Pond
The colors of a summer sunset somehow always look more beautiful when reflecting off a body of water. Here, that effect can be seen on a pond we spent a week at in New Hampshire, relaxing, fishing, and kayaking.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Cloudy Moon
There’s no question that full moons are always fascinating to observe, but when you have wispy clouds floating between you and the moon, you occasionally get that special view – equally eerie and beautiful at the same time. I tried to capture that sense of mystical beauty with this image

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Times Square at Night
Night. Lights. Action. Vibrancy. All of these describe Manhattan's Times Square after the sun has gone down. Each building facade strives to stand out from its peers, with a little more color here, and a little more dazzle there. Yet traffic and pedestrians continue about their ordinary paths, seemingly oblivious to the man-made wonders around them.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x10.8", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

The 2010 Richter Art Calendar is an art wall calendar featuring 12 images of Linda Richter’s oil paintings and Jake Richter’s digital paintings. Each month’s image is protected by a gloss varnish.

Linda's images include:
~ Pristine
~ Flamingo to the Right
~ The Great Blue
~ Grazing Donkeys
~ Purple Water Lily
~ Tiger Lily

Jake's Images include:
~ Bonaire Sunset
~ Bromeliad Blossoms
~ Green Turtle
~ Brain Coral
~ Cloudy Moon
~ Boy Meets Fish

This year we have added two mini-calendars for January and February 2011 at the back of our calendar for future planning.

The 2010 Richter Art Calendar sells for US$6.95 and is available now at the Richter Art Gallery on Bonaire. The calendar is available via two on-line shopping site, www.CaribbeanArt.com and www.BonaireStuff.com, for those in North America and Holland.

Calendar details:
~ Saddle Stitched binding
~ Full Brilliant Color
~ Gloss Varnish to all the artwork
~ Handy 6x6" folded for easy mailing
~ Full 12x6" when open, vertical

Price: USD $6.95

Magic Windsurfing
Most visitors to the Caribbean island of Bonaire know that its waters are its top attraction, but many don’t realize that scuba diving and snorkeling are not the only things to be done in the aquatic realm. Bonaire is also a top windsurfing destination, and the vivid colors and shapes of windsurf equipment hold their own against those of the marine life under the sea. There’s a breathless, dream-like quality to seeing a windsurfer race the wind, and that’s what I have captured here.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 8.8x12", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Night Orchid
Most of us are used to flowers blooming by day, but when I was in the middle of the jungles of the Tortuguero area of Costa Rica in the dark looking for nocturnal wildlife, I stumbled across a number of orchids fully exposed to the world around them, apparently absorbing the rays of night. The reflection of light from my flashlight from these orchids was dazzling against a sea of black, and inspired this vivid image.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 11x8.5", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Sunset Door
Architecture on the Caribbean island of Bonaire is built with simple materials – stone and mortar. But simplicity lends itself to visual comfort as well, catching light in eye catching ways. This particular image is based on a door to one of the building at the Slagbaai area in Bonaire’s Washington National Park – a building that represents generations of building tradition and technique.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 10x9", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Poison Dart Frog
In a world where many things try to camouflage their existence and blend into their surroundings, the poison dart frog must be admired for wanting to stick out and make its presence known. Of course, anything that messes with the poison dart frog will soon regret it, which presents an interesting message about what it takes to stand out from the crowd and survive. And it led me to compose this image in homage.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 8.8x10", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

Statue of Liberty
Perhaps one of the world’s most recognizable statues, the Statue of Liberty, located just south of Manhattan in New York, served for many decades as the beacon for hope and opportunity for many thousands of immigrants seeking a new life in the United States of America. Planes had replaced ships by the time my parents immigrated to the USA, so they did not pass under the Statue’s majestic heights, but high over her instead. Either way Liberty welcomed them to a new life too. My image is intended to reflect the ethereal quality of Liberty, preserving her shape while still leaving her boundless in her reach.

This is a giclee limited edition print of 75 in a closed edition. The print area measures 7.8x11", archival paper 13x19, and pigment ink

The 2009 Richter Art Calendar is an art wall calendar featuring 12 images of Linda Richter’s oil paintings, Jake Richter’s digital paintings, and introducing Krystyana Richter's colored pencil abstracts. Each month’s image is protected by a gloss varnish.

Linda's images include:
~ Tiger Lily Bloom
~ Blue Flirt
~ Red Toucan
~ Red Bougainvillea
~ White Cockatoo
~ Egret Waters

Jake's Images include:
~ Night Orchid
~ Poison Dart Frog
~ Statue of Liberty
~ Magic Windsurfing
~ Fijian Spotfin Lionfish

Krystyana's Images include:
~ Coral and Sponge

This year we have added two mini-calendars for January and February 2010 at the back of our calendar for future planning.

The 2009 Richter Art Calendar sells for US$6.95 and is available now at the Richter Art Gallery on Bonaire. The calendar is available via two on-line shopping site, www.CaribbeanArt.com and www.BonaireStuff.com, for those in North America and Holland.

Calendar details:
~ Saddle Stitched binding
~ Full Brilliant Color
~ Gloss Varnish to all the artwork
~ Handy 6x6" folded for easy mailing
~ Full 12x6" when open, vertical

Price: USD $6.95