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Retiree Brushes Up On Painting Passion

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By JENNIFER HOWELL

Tribune correspondent

Published: July 31, 2008

LAND O' LAKES - As a graphic artist, Richard DePippo made his living by drawing. The 67-year-old Land O' Lakes resident jokes, "I was the one who handed Moses the hammer and chisel."

Now in retirement, DePippo draws and paints for the pure enjoyment of it.

"All my life I've been in the art field," he said. "I wanted to be an artist. It's all I knew how to do, and it's how I made my living. As a young man, I thought it would be nice to paint when I retired, to go out in a field somewhere and paint."

Retirement brought the Boston native from Massachusetts to Florida four years ago. Within a year of his move, DePippo took up watercolor painting.

No longer confined by the deadlines and subject matter handed to him on the job, DePippo paints when he is inspired. His work earned him two best in show awards at this year's Florida State Fair, where he submitted three paintings at the urging of a colleague. One of the winning pieces was of an American Indian maiden, and the other depicted three marching elephants. The maiden painting and two other pieces from DePippo have been on display at the Land O' Lakes Branch Library and will remain there through today.

DePippo was surprised at how well he fared in the state fair contest given his lack of experience in the medium, but his wife, Frances, says he has improved greatly in the past three years.

"He never gave himself enough credit when he was starting out," she said. "Now he's getting confident. I think each time he does something, it gets better."

One of the factors in DePippo's success is his weekly get-together with the Masters of Fine Art at the Land O' Lakes Recreation Complex. He says the Wednesday meetings, where about 15 artists gather to paint, have pushed him to become a better artist.

"Each of us brings a bag of tricks to the table," he said. "Artwork is passed on through a bag of tricks. You learn from better artists."

Fellow watercolor artist Bob Jasper paints with DePippo at the Masters of Fine Art meetings. He said he has taken notice of DePippo's improvement and that his wins at the fair were well-deserved.

"I think he's really got a lot of talent, especially since he has not been a watercolor artist very long," Jasper said. "He has improved by leaps and bounds in the last year or two."

DePippo tries to paint every day and doesn't have any hobbies other than art. It's a passion that finally has room to breathe.

"He's more relaxed. He's not on a schedule," said Frances DePippo of her husband's freedom to paint in retirement. "He can go in his studio and paint. When he paints, he is in another world."

Inspiration comes to the grandfather in numerous ways. Books from the library led to DePippo's American Indian maiden and marching elephants. And, on a whim, he got permission to take a neighborhood tot's photograph as she walked down the street, and he painted the scene from the photograph.

There is no Web site where DePippo's art can be viewed. He doesn't market himself as an artist. So far, he has painted for himself. That hasn't stopped him from being commissioned.

"A fella came in to fix the TV and the next thing you know, he wanted me to paint something for his mother," DePippo said.

DePippo isn't sure why more people don't commission local artists.

"My wife works part time at JCPenney," he said. "I go to pick her up and I see people walking out with artwork that they've paid $70, $80, $90, even $100 for, and it's just a print. They could seek out an artist, help pay for their paper and supplies and get an original piece of artwork. There are 12 to 15 artists I know who would love to do something for a family - a portrait of their pet or their children. It would keep them the artists motivated."

DePippo plans on entering more art shows come fall and has gained inspiration for new pieces.

He pulled some pictures of Seminole Indian dolls from the library and recently bought a couple of frames to hold paintings of a girl doll and a boy doll. He's not yet sure how he's going to paint them, but he knows the idea will come to fruition.

Growth as an artist is also a goal. He is working to make his art more abstract and less realistic, though he admits he has hit a wall creatively.

Frances says her husband, like all artists, gets frustrated at times, but that may show just how much his artwork means to him.

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