Three Trees, by Richard Stryker

In the summer of 1968, Richard Stryker enrolled in a painting class at the Minneapolis School of Art (now the Minneapolis College of Art and Design), and has been painting ever since. He subsequently earned a degree in art history at Colorado College, where he learned that the avant-garde artists of the early 1900s approached painting as “a new sport with no rules or boundaries,” he says. That playfulness shows through in Stryker’s art, including Spring Tree No. 3, featured on the cover of this issue.

You can view more of Stryker’s paintings in July at the House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul; in October at the East Lake Street Dunn Bros. in Minneapolis; and anytime on his MnArtists page.

Stryker paints in his kitchen at home in St. Paul, where he lives with his wife of 34 years, Robin Stryker (whose poem Sonnet for the Sparrows appears on page 6).

Tell us about your work at the Minn. Historical Society.
Painting is an avocation for me; it’s not practical for making a decent living. Consequently, I work for the Minnesota Historical Society. One pleasure I have at work is being able to assist with the installation of exhibits in the historic 1891 Art Gallery of the James J. Hill House on Summit Avenue in St. Paul. Now on view [through July 12] are 50 images made by Minnesota printmakers from the years 1900 through 1945. My favorite artists in this exhibit are Wanda Gag, Bob Brown, Dewey Albinson, Clement Haupers, and Clara Mairs.

Please tell us about our cover image, Spring Tree No. 3.
Several years ago our neighbor, Georgiana Podulke, planted a beautiful double-flowering plum tree (prunus triloba), sometimes called the Rose of China. The bare branches of winter are decorated with light pink blossoms each spring, and they announce the joy of this season — for the solitary bird, for me, and hopefully, for the viewer, as well.

What do you enjoy most about painting?
I like color a lot. So I paint. Sometimes painting is like ice fishing for me. It can be an excuse to just sit and think for long periods of time without feeling guilty, but then the bait is struck, or, in this case, inspiration strikes. Then you chase inspiration down a path, remove a few obstacles along the way, and see if you can make it into something tangible. The trick is to leave room in the painting for the viewers to add their “two cents” so as to keep the image alive.

I have enjoyed participating in a workshop called “All I Want to Do Is Paint” that is offered through the Split Rock Arts Program, University of Minnesota, Cloquet Forestry Center. Professor David Feinberg leads this week-long retreat that I have attended for the past five years. This summer I am looking forward to learning from another St. Paul artist, Brian Stewart, at the Grand Marais Art Colony.

What do you like about living in St. Paul?
Some of my father’s relatives came to St. Paul in the 1850s, and I feel rooted here. There’s a human scale to things. I like walking my dog in our neighborhood. Recently I noticed a neighbor had a grape arbor in their back yard and as I walked past it I saw a mouse eating a little bit of grape left on the vine.

Some other things I like about living in St. Paul are: a pecan waffle from Mickey’s Diner, singer/songwriters performing at Gingko’s Coffee House, an August Wilson play at Penumbra Theater, a slice of white pizza at the Italian Pie Shoppe, and a tabbouleh salad at the Minnesota State Fair.