Ray Strong at 100, speaking about landscape painting

Here are two clips that will be included in the extended version of Maynard Dixon Art and Spirit, in which artist Ray Strong speaks about the first time he and Maynard went painting together. Ray had many colorful stories about Maynard, some too colorful to include! Both of these clips are unedited, I just wanted to share them with you.

In this clip, Ray at 100 years old, shares his passion for being a landscape painter. Most of our interviews were conducted outdoors, because that's where he was happiest. He loved the land, and was passionately protective of the environment. Ray was a founding member of The Oak Group, a beautiful artist collective that supports environmental protection and preservation. The first day that we met, Ray asked me if I liked to sleep under the stars. He thought it was important that people do that often, because it keeps you humble. I tried it recently, and he was right. Thanks Ray.

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Ray Stanford Strong 1905-2006

This is a painting that Ray Strong painted in 1934 of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. I love the perspective!

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This is Ray working on the painting.

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Two years after Ray painted that work, he and his wife Betty started the Art Student's League in San Francisco with some of their friends. Look at the tuition fees! What a wonderful roster of instructors! I really wish I could climb into a time machine. I would take every class... Note that Maynard Dixon's brother, Harry, was teaching jewelry making. He was a master metalsmith.

Harry made this wonderful copper lamp with the Thunderbird Symbol and a mica shade for Maynard Dixon and his bride, Dorothea Lange.

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