Event of Note

Life is Not a Dress Rehearsal

UWG alumnus Dr. Fred Richards will open his first-ever art exhibit, Shadow and Light, at the Carrollton Cultural Arts Center. A reception will celebrate the event on Thursday, March 4, from 5 to 7 p.m. The campus community is invited to the reception and to view the show. Shadow and Light will run through April 22.

Fred dabbled every now and again with paints but began to earnestly work with acrylics two years ago after a friend and spiritual teacher, Richard Kirsten Daiensai, encouraged him to try it, and Penny Lewis, director of the Carrollton Cultural Arts Center, invited him to have a show.

Fred has sold several of his canvases already, many of which are as large as four by eight feet. The colors and subject matter are bright, bold and intense like Fred himself. A catalog of his work will be available at the show. Here are a few thoughts he shared on this new venture:

“I have spent most of my life searching for a better understanding of what it means to be a human being. I know there is an infinitely larger reality right here in the world of our daily experience and I long, like a lover, to be more aware of it, more connected to it. Painting is now a powerful expression of this searching and longing.

“I’m gratefully surprised I have some talent for painting, but I’m not surprised I’m intense about painting when I’m doing it. I love basic colors, especially blue and red. I’m not subtle. Someone told me, ‘Fred, some artists whisper when they paint; you yell!’ I believe I can whisper and yell, but I can be loud when I sing, talk and when I put paint on canvas.

“I know I’m going to die so I savor the moment, the day. Life is not a dress rehearsal. I choose to live fully, to put energy into things that are meaningful and challenging. I’m becoming an old dude, so I want to have a party with music, wine and food. I don’t drink anymore, but my friends do. And, besides, maybe someone will be inspired to buy a painting after indulging a bit!”

Fred Richards is a 1979 graduate of the Ed.S. degree program in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology. Semi-retired, he has practiced as a professional counselor and a marriage and family therapist in Carrollton. He is also the husband of UWG Professor Emeritus of Psychology Anne Richards.