Ronald Ray Rogers

Biography

“I grew up in a rural valley that was dotted with farms, vineyards and rolling hills. Those orchards, farms and small business districts have disappeared into urban development. The sprawl continues each year with thousands of acres of American farmland disappearing forever into highway, technological and structural development, forcing Americans to import more and more fruit and produce from other countries. The remembrance of the phantom farms and orchards, and what has happened in their place, is the inspiration and motivation for my work. The conceptual communication is expressed in representational forms and shapes of orchard trees, fruit and structures in relation to each other. Paint is applied in light to heavy impasto, scraped, scratched, manipulated and enhanced in repeated applications and defined glazing. I often scratch into the paint or write my thoughts about the specific work and the disappearing farms and food on the paint surface.”