RICH THISTLE is a multi-disciplined, Canadian visual artist respected for his aviation art as well as watercolor and acrylic landscape paintings of Canada's lake country. His work extends to other subjects including horses, cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, sailboats, canoes, wildlife and portraits.

His images are published as limited-edition litho and digital fine-art prints, posters and collector plates. Over his career Rich has also designed and created original stained glass, furniture, pottery, whips, knives and works in leather as well as designing and building two homes.

Rich spent thirty years as a visual art educator and consultant while developing his career as an artist. He studied at the Ontario College of Art & Design, earned a BA (Visual Art Major) from the University of Western Ontario and is a graduate of Stratford Teachers' College.

His original paintings are in the collections of the Canadian War Museum, Jersey Museum in the Channel Islands, HRH Prince Charles, 431 (AD) Squadron Snowbirds, Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, Bombardier/Canadair, Penn West Energy and numerous other corporate, military, public and private collections worldwide.

Rich has been profiled on national television and radio and his images appear on the covers of Canadian, American and British books, magazines and in television documentaries. One of his paintings is depicted in bronze in the Royal Canadian Mint's Canada Remembers medallion set commemorating the 50th anniversary of D-Day in World War 2.

In early 2000, Rich was commissioned to create a painting celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Snowbirds, Canada's military aerobatic display Team. The painting Flying the Flag was published by the Snowbirds as a limited-edition print with artist proofs personally co-signed by the entire 24 member Team. Since then Rich Thistle Studio has also released Double Diamond Radical Twins, co-signed by Maj. Bob Painchaud, Commanding Officer/Team Lead 431 (AD) Sqn. Snowbirds 1999-2000-2001. Both of these Snowbirds' aviation prints are licenced by the Department of National Defence Intellectual Properties Director with a portion of the proceeds supporting the Team's reunion fund.

Rich was proud to be asked to contribute his painting ONCE UPON A TIME to be included in the book DIANA IN ART, compiled by Mem Mehmet, published in 2007 and hailed as "one of the most must-have coffee table books of the millennium" by ATTITUDE MAGAZINE.

Over the years Rich has given numerous, slide-illustrated presentations to service clubs, historical and community clubs, aviation associations and veterans groups. These presentations feature his paintings and career as an artist with particular focus on the Canadian history depicted in his many vintage aviation images, as well as modern-era avaition art.

Rich has created commemorative aviation posters for veterans' associations and various annual or special aviation events. He has written several articles about the aviation history represented in his paintings for the American magazine Aviation History and 33 monthly columns for Canadian Flight, the national publication of COPA, the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association.

Since 2006 Rich has also kept busy creating the graphic design work for his wife Jay's website design business Thistle Site Design / Joomla Specialists

Rich and his wife Jay owned and operated Gallery 164, a retail art gallery, in their home town of Stratford, Ontario before re-locating to cottage country in 1999. Visitors are now welcome by appointment to Rich's studio/gallery located in Wasaga Beach, Ontario, north of Toronto. Collectors can view and purchase original paintings and a full selection of limited-edition litho prints and posters, order a fine-art digital print or discuss a commission for a painting.

READ Rich's article giving a personal view of his motivations for painting.

COMMISSIONS:

• Commissions Info
• Portrait Examples

STRATFORD PLACE PROJECT:

This year-long project produced an exciting public art installation THE HEART OF STRATFORD MURAL completed in Nov. 1998, including 23 original acrylic paintings by Rich Thistle. These works, a visual art tribute to historic and current Stratford, are permanently mounted across the front of Stratford Place, a commercial/apartment complex in the heart of downtown Stratford Ontario. Take some time to view these widely-acclaimed images available as digital fine-art prints through the CATALOG, and read a little bit of history about Rich's hometown.

RICH'S RESTLESS CREATIVITY:

Over the years, Rich's urge to create has led him down various side paths, seeking an expansion of his skills in traditional crafts and a deeper understanding of materials and processes. For several years he worked in earthenware and stoneware, making functional pottery and sculptural art in clay. His interest in Canadian naval history led to the building of two highly-detailed, scratch-built models of Canadian WW II warships, HMCS Haida and HMCS Sackville. He has spent time designing and making jewellery in non-precious materials (clay, leather and wire) based on ancient Celtic designs. Over the years Rich has worked in leather, creating garments, luggage, belts, knife sheaths and whips. He also enjoys designing and building furniture in his home workshop.

The contemplative and visual oriental art of bonsai appeals to him on many levels. He's a tree guy, painting as well as propagating and planting hundreds of them over the years. Rich is an amateur architect having designed and built two personal residences, and the major renovation design of a third, including models and working blue prints. An ongoing interest has been exploring the world of custom, knife making, designing and creating knives from scratch using the stock-removal method. Other interests include customizing, petting and playing with his vehicles, photography and playing his guitars.

	(Artist's Collection) original stained glass window installation
	(Artist's Collection) original stained glass lamp panel
	(Artist's Collection) stoneware pottery based on historical Ontario designs
	Celtic-style jewellery, hand-made stoneware beads, non-precious wire & leather
	Norway spruce bonsai, fifteen-year-old tree, collected from nature, with hand-made stoneware pot & wood display table
	second Thistle-designed residence Franklin Dr., Stratford (1986)
	(Artist's Collection) hand-made hunting knife, O-1 steel, brass, deer bone handle with custom cowhide & deer-skin sheath
	(Artist's Collection) Luan mahogany lighted wall unit designed & built by Rich Thistle
	(Artist's Collection) HMCS Haida Canadian Tribal Class destroyer, scratch-built model
	(Artist's Collection) whips hand made using traditional 19th century methods

MAGAZINE COVERS:

• 2003 (Sept) Tough & Ready; the Memphis Belle AVIATION HISTORY magazine, Leesburg VA
• 1996 (Nov) Black Lynx Victory AVIATION HISTORY magazine, Leesburg VA
• 1995 (July) Final Victory AVIATION HISTORY magazine, Leesburg VA
• 1993 (July) Pursuit of the Luciana AIRFORCE magazine, Ottawa ON
• 1992 (Mar) Hornets over the Gulf AIRFORCE magazine, Ottawa ON
• 1991 (Apr) Where There's Smoke AIRFORCE magazine, Ottawa ON
• 1990 (Sept) We Flew with the Heroic Few AIRFORCE magazine, Ottawa ON

PUBLICATIONS:

• 1999 (May) Feature article; Billy Bishop: Lone Wolf at Dawn AVIATION HISTORY magazine
• 1995-98 (thirty-three monthly articles); Aviation Images, COPA CANADIAN FLIGHT national newspaper
• 1998 (Jan) Feature article; The Avro Arrow; Canada's Supersonic Fighter Fiasco AVIATION HISTORY magazine
• 1997 (Nov) Art of Flight article; George Beurling: Fox in the Henhouse AVIATION HISTORY magazine
• 1995 (Jan) Art of Flight article; Ken Boomer: Victory Over Kiska AVIATION HISTORY magazine
• 1995 (May) Art of Flight article; Into the Blue AVIATION HISTORY magazine 1994 (Jan) Art of Flight article; David Hornell; Press on Regardless AVIATION HISTORY magazine

BOOK COVERS:

• Nickel on the Grass; Reflections of a U.S. Air Force Pilot
  Author: Colonel Philip W. "Hands" Handley 2006 ©
  Published By iUniverse Books Inc.USA ISBN# 0-595-39735-2
  Image used: Rhino Charge BY Rich Thistle ©
• The Tunnel King; The True Story of Wally Floody and the Great Escape
  By Barbara Hehner 2004 © - 1st printing
  Published by Harper Collins Publishers, Canada ISBN 0006394779
  Image used: In the Balance By Rich Thistle ©
• The Digby Diary;A History of RAF Digby in Lincolnshire 1917 - 1953
  Author: John Rennison 2003 ©
  Published by Aspect Publishing, England ISBN 0-9514047-3-3
  Image used: Dieppe Dawn By Rich Thistle ©
• War on our Doorstep; The Unknown Campaign on North America's West Coast
  Author: Brendan Coyle 2003 ©
  Published by Heritage House, Canada ISBN 1-894384-46-6
  Image used: Victory Over Kiska By Rich Thistle ©

DOCUMENTARY FILMS ... original artwork provided for use in film

• A Hero To Me 2003 Ballinran Productions ©, Cilla Productions with Global Television & TFO-TV Ontario, the story of Canadian WW1 flying ace Billy Bishop as told by his granddaughter, journalist & television broadcaster, Diana Bishop

EXHIBITIONS:

• 2001 (June) Recent work, Blue Mountain Foundation for the Arts, annual juried studio tour weekend
• 1999 (Oct) Solo Exhibition Recent Work, Gallery 164, Stratford ON (1997,1994, 1993,1992, 1991)
• 1998 (Nov - Mar.1999) Group Exhibition, The Sporting Life, Gallery Stratford, Stratford ON
• 1998 (Oct) Juried art exhibition & auction, Kids Get Cancer Too, John Labatt Gallery UWO, London ON
• 1995 (Sept) Solo Exhibition, Aviation Art, Jersey Museum, St. Helier, Jersey Island, Channel Islands
• 1995 (June) Solo Exhibition, Aviation Art, Stratford and District Remembers World War II event
• 1994 (Sept) Solo Exhibition, Guest Artist, Canadian Mental Health Assoc. Art Auction, Stratford ON
• 1993 (May) Juried Exhibition, Artflight, National Aviation Museum, Ottawa ON
• 1992 (Aug) Invitational Exhibition, Bayfield Marine Art Show, Bayfield ON
• 1991 (Sept) Invitational Exhibition, Ontario Place Toronto Dockside Show, Toronto ON
• 1991 (Aug) Juried Exhibition, Artflight, National Aviation Museum, Ottawa ON
• 1991 (June) Solo Exhibition, Aviation Art, Traditions Gallery, Alliston ON
• 1990 (May) Invitational Exhibition, 11th Anniversary Show, Artisan's Alley, London ON
• 1989 (Nov) Solo Exhibition, Aviation Art, Decher Art Gallery, London ON
• 1989 (June) Invitational Exhibition, Inaugural Show, National Aviation Museum, Ottawa ON
• 1986 (Jan) Juried Exhibition, Annual Western Ontario Exhibition, London ON Regional Art Gallery
• 1985 (June) Solo Exhibition, Shorelines, Gallery 96, Stratford ON
• 1983 (Dec) Invitational Group Show, Gallery 96/Gallery Stratford, Stratford ON
• 1981 (May) Solo Exhibition, Recent Drawings, Gallery 96, Stratford ON
• 1964 - 1985 Various juried and open exhibitions, Gallery/Stratford (originally The Rothmans Gallery) Stratford ON

MEDIA COVERAGE TV - Radio - Newspaper & Magazine

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RICH'S PERSONAL VIEW - Why he paints ...

What does it mean to be an artist? Where does all this come from? I know it seems odd but before I began to systematically put my thoughts into words for others to read, I never really considered such questions at all, or, if I did, never bothered to answer them. I just made stuff. I acted in an intuitive way to those things which interested me at the moment and my intuition led me to make a visual expression of what was exciting me at the moment. I just responded visually, never really considering my motivation at all. I knew I had to do it and the bonus was it was fun. It's been this way ever since I was little, and that's quite some time ago!

I have always enjoyed making things. I have designed and built light fixtures and furniture; I have designed and helped build two modern houses, and designed the major renovations for our 1892 Victorian home/gallery which we lived in and operated as a full-time retail gallery for almost 9 years in Stratford Ontario. I have been a scratch ship modeler; I have worked in leather, creating clothing, luggage and whips; I was a potter for six years; I have always been interested in photography and had my own dark-room for many years. And, of course I have been drawing and painting for as long as I can remember.

I did all this without really worrying about understanding why. It just seemed to be the natural progression of things. I was happy if I was creating and that was all that mattered. Then, in 1980, at the age of thirty-six, my life changed. I had what I now suppose was an early mid-life "crisis". In fact it was more like a conversion. I looked at the things I had accomplished to date. I had tried many avenues of expression and thoroughly enjoyed each one. But I finally realized if I wanted to "be an artist" I had to get serious. Sounds ominous doesn't it? Where's the fun in getting serious?

My initial decision was to begin work toward my first solo exhibition. Serious artists have shows. I began to use a technique new to me - drawing with powdered graphite - to create realistic, large scale drawings on a variety of themes, including animals and children. I spent the next year working toward this show which thankfully proved to be successful. Serious artists sell work. I was happy with my first show.

Almost immediately I began to work toward another exhibition. I was really serious now! At first, I had planned to add color to my large graphite drawings, but I soon realized that what I wanted to do was make the leap to full color and I began to experiment with large, abstract water media landscape-theme images. My second show came and went. I was pleased. I was focused. I was serious. And I was still having fun to boot!

Gradually, my mixed-water media, abstract work began to evolve toward my current style of realistic watercolor. My northern landscape watercolor themes come from my traveling and vacation experiences both as a youth and an adult and I still periodically feed my senses in the stimulating north. I love to paint it, and always will. Then, in 1988, I had another "conversion" experience. This one was more powerful and has had more profound repercussions in my life. As a landscape painter for many years, it was a shock to others (as well as to myself) when, as a response to some intensive reading I was doing about RCAF wartime history and Canada's immense contribution in the air in World War II, I decided to paint my first Spitfire. And the rest, as they say, "is history"! I say it's like eating potato chips. I could never just eat one! Little did I realize how the consequences of this simple act would change my life.

In little more than two years, I had my first exhibition of aviation art in London, in November, 1990, which included over forty original works. I had reached new levels of seriousness. In another year-and-a-half my wife Jay (business manager, mother of our two children, my biggest supporter, and the only critic I respond to) and I had committed to opening a new retail gallery and publishing business. There was no lack of work and no turning back.

People often ask the question, “Why aviation art?”. After all, it is not exactly "mainstream" in the art world. I have an abiding fascination for history which has, since 1988, been translated into a passion for aviation history. In fact, I'm proud to say, air force blood flows through my veins. Both my father and his brother served in the RCAF during World War II and some of my earliest memories are snatches of an air show at Centralia, an RCAF and Air Commonwealth Training base in southwestern Ontario.

But it was during my early teenage years when my interest spiked after we built a house on the edge of a little rural airstrip just south of Stratford. From my back door I could see the windsock, grass strip and hangars. I still have many exciting memories of events, aircraft and the inevitable "characters" who flew them and to this day my aviation dreams are often set in my boyhood spaces. This was the era of Canada's great display team the Golden Hawks in their F-86 Sabres, and it was at this time my dreams of flying first appeared in my art, mostly in the form of drawings. The legendary Avro Arrow represented both the pinnacle and abyss of my teen-age aviation passion. But it would not be until years later that images of the air would surface in my art again.

All my early aviation work depicted the considerable contribution of the RCAF in the air in World War II. Because many of my paintings represent actual historical events, my "recreational" interest in the reading of history was easily translated into research, which is a vital part of my preparations. My research takes many forms. Of course I have a large collection of books on aviation which I refer to constantly.

But equally important is my growing circle of friends - some of whom flew in wartime - who are more than willing to share their knowledge of history and machine, and even to co-sign some of my limited-edition reproductions as a confirmation of their historical accuracy. Some of them are also heritage and general aircraft owners who are always willing to generously share their aircraft on the ground and in the air. And I'm busy building my back-seat time in a growing list of types. Periodically I make pilgrimages to aviation museums, although I always prefer visiting flying aircraft such as those in the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Mount Hope. Non-flying museums are, in a way, sad places, a bit like morgues.

I require periodic bouts of stimulation and feel the need to have first-hand experience, to soak in the sensual, to have close contact with the aircraft I paint. One way I accomplished this, for many years, was to exhibit my work at air shows. Not only did it allow me to soak up the sights, sounds and smells of flying, but it gave me another chance to get my work out in front of the public. Although Jay and I no longer live the gypsy life of the air show vendor, we still get to air shows as spectators occassionally.

I enjoy being an artist. I have always been visually motivated since childhood. My first serious landscape at age fifteen, was in oils on the back of a shoe box lid. All these years later I am still depicting the beauty of Canada in watercolor. In fact, many visitors to my studio cannot believe that one artist paints both the watercolor landscapes and the aviation works. I refuse to be pigeon-holed, even painting abstractly at times. My aviation media include acrylic on board, watercolor and powdered graphite on paper. However, as much as I enjoy and treasure my 'landscape time', it is my aviation work which has proven most rewarding, always leading me in new and exciting directions.

As a writer I found another outlet for my creative compulsion. For almost three years I wrote a monthly column about my work for Canadian Flight, the national publication of The Canadian Owners and Pilots Association (COPA). I have written articles for the American magazine AVIATION HISTORY which has also used my artwork on their covers and sometimes to illustrate other writers material. This has given me a chance not only to increase my profile south of the border, but also to present some of Canada's aviation history to American readers.

Furthering my goal to advance the genre of aviation art, I was fortunate to be the subject of a CBC television profile, first aired across Canada in January of 1994. One of my paintings, WE FLEW WITH THE HEROIC FEW was chosen by the Royal Canadian Mint to be depicted as the Battle of Britain medallion in their Canada Remembers Medallion Set, commemorating Canadian participation in six major campaigns of World War II. The painting is now in the collection of the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. I feel very honored to have been a part of this project in company with five other prominent Canadian artists.

As a published artist, many of my aviation paintings, as well as other themes I paint, are reproduced as limited-edition prints, collector plates, and posters, often for special aviation events, such as the fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Britain in 1990, the RCAF reunion at Centralia in 1992 and three annual fine-art posters for the Toronto Aviation and Aircraft Show. Over the years many of my paintings have been used on book and magazine covers, as well as inside, and in historical documentary films and on packaging material for aviation and automotive products.

In early 2000, I was commissioned to create a painting celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Snowbirds, Canada's military aerobatic display Team. The painting FLYING THE FLAG was published by the Snowbirds as a limited edition print with artist proofs personally co-signed by the entire 24 member Team. Since then I have painted and released a second Snowbirds' image DOUBLE DIAMOND RADICAL TWINS as a limited edition print. My association with the Team has been very fulfilling and created some lasting friendships.

My "idea book" is bursting with possible projects, things which I would like to get to in the near future when I am not busy working on private commissions for airplane owners and aviation enthusiasts. I have so much to do that I never have to fear that dreaded 'artist's block'. In fact, to the contrary. I'm afraid I will never have a chance to get to all the projects I have in mind.