Artist Dick Termes in his workshop in South Dakota. His ‘Rotating Worlds’ show, featuring his unique spherical painting collection, will be exhibited at Golden Moon Gallery in San Mateo April 16.
Internationally acclaimed artist Dick Termes will visit Golden Moon Gallery in San Mateo April 16 to show his unique spherical painting collection called Rotating Worlds.
Termes paints intricate and themed work on spheres and hangs them from the ceiling. Called Termespheres, his goal is to try and capture as much of the total visual picture as possible, similar to a panoramic view. His work provides opportunities to show a six-point perspective, allowing people to draw the total up, down and all-around scene. It also allows him to create different geometric perspectives not found in traditional paintings.
“The sphere, when you think of it as your canvas, you think of an endless world that connects together in all directions. There are so many things you can explore,” Termes said.
Termes in his workshop in South Dakota working on his art.
Termes spent four years teaching elementary school art classes, where he developed ways to create a simplified system to explain perspectives that increased his interest in creating art with different viewpoints. Termes wants to teach people to think spherically and realize that every step they take on Earth is based on a spherical image. He sees the spherical canvas as offering different visual perspectives than the more traditional perspectives of flat paintings.
“I love all of the artists of the past, but I think they are not seeing the world I see it,” Termes said.
He has painted many religious sites worldwide, including Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Basilica Cathedral of Saint-Denis, Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and Stonehenge. He likes to visit the locations to capture the details needed. However, he occasionally works with photos if traveling is unavailable. He has also spent time in Half Moon Bay and is currently working on a piece of art of the San Benito House on Main Street. He spent more than two weeks taking in San Benito House to capture the bar scene. He hopes to one day get to southern Spain to paint Moorish architecture, which has geometric buildings that feed into his art.
His work can also touch on realism, fantasy realism and surrealism. He plays with optical illusions and patterns and relishes the freedom from traditional artist constraints.
“Because I paint on a whole different canvas than anyone else, I can somehow get away with doing a lot of varieties,” Termes said.
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His canvas starts with a small polyethylene plastic globe and roughens it with sandpaper. He then puts gesso on the canvas to build a thick skin. After additional work to smooth the canvas, he draws and paints on it before moving on to colors. He sprays a protection material on the canvas and then puts a chain in them so it can hang from the ceiling.
Termes lives in Spearfish, South Dakota, near Black Hills National Forest, with his wife Markie. They run the Termesphere Gallery and Museum, the oldest continuously running an art gallery in the Black Hills. He is currently creating a 3-foot sphere for his hometown bank. He received his Master of Fine Art in California and visits when he gets the chance.
The Golden Moon Gallery at 28 E. Third Ave. in San Mateo is a gallery, boutique and art studio opened in 2016 by Nick and Ellen Chaboya. Nick Chaboya is a local artist whose goal is to provide an artistic space for the art community to share, create and discover works. He has worked to offer original paintings, prints, antiques, jewelry, ceramics and custom furniture. Chaboya noted that Termes has worked in the field for more than 50 years, giving him authority and credibility around his unique form. Chaboya said the tall ceilings and aesthetics in Golden Moon led Termes to show his collection in San Mateo. The sheer number of pieces made up from other shows will make the night a unique and interactive process in an intimate space.
“We felt very humbled that he wanted to show his work with us, as he has been shown all over the world. It was quite an opportunity for us,” Chaboya said.
The exhibit will showcase 26 original Termes pieces and will be on display until May 1. Termes will be at Golden Moon Gallery April 16 at 5 p.m. to speak and answer questions about his work.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
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