The Other Richard/Crossing Paths

The Other Richard

Sponsor: CrisDental Family Dentistry & Denture Center

I don’t know where I heard about Richard Gorsuch nor do I know where he is these days, but the artist of vagueness touched my life in a mysterious way.

The story took place in Cannon Beach Oregon, a coastal town and playground of the rather wealthy.

As I recall Richard was a marketer in his day. He did nothing but work until one day a friend gave him a jar of marbles and told him he needed to have more fun.

That somehow turned into painting and finally the story I’m about to tell you.

God spoke to Richard telling him to paint the same scene of Haystack Rock from the same location, for one year.

Rain or shine, wind and sunshine, each day Richard would wheel his painting dolly to the beach and paint.

When I showed up with a television crew the paintings were done but the reason yet to be defined.

Richard had 365 paintings of the same spot looking at haystack Rock for one full year.

Backstory.

When Richard was a lad his family used to go to Cannon Beach to visit. One time a rock fell from the big rick and struck him on the head.

I don’t remember how bad his injuries were but he had never forgotten that moment.

Back to the story, on the day we shot the story Richard told me he still had no reason for the project.

Each picture recorded each day of that year.

Some were just sand and paint and others as crisp and clear as can be. It all depended on the weather.

He told me life is like that you know.

Some days fuzzy others clear but each has a place.

The day we shot the story Richard brought the jar of marbles to the beach.

In front of us he buried them in a hole near the place he’d spend the last year recording with paint and hardboard cavas color, light and in some ways time as he tried to make it stand still.

Richard said he no longer needed the marbles he had discovered his “fun.” He found the thing that made him come alive.

He turned to me and said “Rick, you need to find the thing that makes you dance. Discover the thing that makes you sing and go do it.

There are too many of us working all the time and in our hurry we forget to come alive.

Thank you Richard for taking something that might seem meaningless to the world but touched me in a way and in a place I will never forget.

It takes a bit of Richard to make me come alive.