Classic Collectibles Closed (#3652651)

Richard Gorman Original Painting
Signed Lower Left

Artist Biography:
By Toni Gibbons

Painting, drawing, carving and creating works of art has always been a part of Holbrook resident Richard Gorman’s life. Raised on the Hopi Reservation at First Mesa by his grandmother, Sara Honawa, Gorman began his journey into the world of art at the age of six while attending school on the reservation.

“I remember that the Navajo kids would draw cattle, horses and bull riders, while the Hopi kids would draw the Kachinas and things that were within our culture,” recalled Gorman, who carries the blood of the Hopi, Navajo, Sioux and Cheyenne in his lineage.

Born to his parents, Clara Pahona and Bobby Lee Gorman Sr., Richard was one of five children that included three brothers and one sister, Randy, Bobby Jr., Gary and Brenda. Carl Gorman, his grandfather’s brother, was a Code Talker and the father of R. C. Gorman, who was an internationally known artist.

When he was 12, Gorman remembers moving to Holbrook. It was a new school and a new world that involved more than the reservation culture he had grown up in. During those first few months in the Holbrook school, Gorman began to realize that he had talent. “It was around Christmas time and the teacher wanted us to draw greeting cards for our families. She had a box of cards we could use to copy, so I took one and started drawing,” said Gorman. “At first I thought I had done something wrong, because the kids started gathering around me when the teacher encouraged them to come look at my work. They were amazed at my work.”

With his confidence growing, Gorman did a painting of Jesus at Gethsemane during a vacation Bible school put on by a local church. Paul Barger, the publisher and owner of the Tribune News at the time, took a picture of it and put it in the paper. “God bless Paul,” said Gorman. “He supported me and Francie Payne (the former editor of The Tribune) was a big supporter, she buys a lot of my work.”

In high school, Gorman described himself as rambunctious. “I ditched art class and didn’t apply myself. By the time I was ready to graduate, I was behind and had to go to summer school to catch up. That’s when I started getting into trouble.”

Hoping to pursue his art after finally graduating, Gorman applied to the world-renown Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, N.M. “I was told that it was too late for my application and that I would have to wait until the next semester.”

That’s when a friend showed up and encouraged him to join the military and see the world. At 18, Gorman found himself at Fort Knox, Ken., after signing into the delayed entry program with the Army. “I was stationed in Germany for 18 months,” said Gorman. It was those 18 months that taught him the value of his artwork. “My paycheck wasn’t much, so I started painting right off to see if I could get some extra money.”

Within a short time of landing in Germany, Gorman wandered into a trading post in downtown Frankfurt hoping to sell some of his art. To his surprise, a photograph of R.C. Gorman was on the wall. “I asked the owner about the picture and he told me R.C. had been there in that store. I told the owner that R.C. was my relative, showing him my ID. He started giving me stuff like moccasins, post cards and then he bought some of my paintings. It was the first place where someone was willing to buy my work.”

When the military learned of his artistic talent, Gorman was put onto numerous art details that included doing historical murals at the various military bases, including one at Fort Carson in Colorado. The murals won a number of awards that brought status to his unit. The mural that he did at Fort Carson is still there, even after all the other murals were whitewashed over during renovations.

“I knew I needed discipline and I needed to get out of Holbrook, to be responsible and be on time,” shared Gorman. “In the military I learned that. But it was the war within me, and all the stuff I had been through, that drove me to alcohol. When I left the service, I met my wife, Gloria. That’s when I cried out to God and my life was changed. Now I have that peace that passes all understanding.”

From there Gorman began to chase the dream of being an artist. “I went to art shows for exposure, winning awards and travelling all over from San Francisco to Indianapolis. I learned of the jealousy and the envy within the art world,” said Gorman.

It was at the age of 28, Gorman had a chance to talk with R.C. Gorman at a family gathering in Gallup. “Sitting next him, I asked him one simple question, ‘do you have any advice to give an upcoming artist?’ The answer from R.C. was, ‘Just keep painting, if your work is good it will sell itself.’”

It was advice Gorman took to heart. “I don’t need the praise of men or the pat on the back. I sell my work to the galleries that I have known for 30 years,” remarked Gorman. “They are family and they take good care of me.”

While Gorman is serious about the quality and beauty within his work, he also loves to have fun. When asked to make a Kachina-type figure depicting medical marijuana, what came out of the woodcarving was a figure he named, “Glaucoma Situation”. With carrots under his arm to help his eyes and pockets full of munchies, the figure created enough of a stir in the art world that Gorman has been commissioned to do a larger one.

Gorman does art demonstrations where he teaches the at-risk teenagers who are involved in the Junior Leadership Academy out of Show Low and Whiteriver some of the basic concepts involved in art. “I show the kids how they can create art and sell it to make money. Anything you want in life, you have to work for,” said Gorman.

One girl in Gorman’s class told him that she couldn’t paint a straight line. Gorman showed her how everything is a series of shapes and lines. She started painting, doing four paintings of the same thing in different styles. The next time the girl saw Gorman, she said, “I sold every one of them and I can buy some school clothes.” This is from a student whose parents were arrested for drugs and yet through Gorman, she found a way to make her life begin to work.

Now living in Holbrook where he and his wife raised their two sons, Richard and Micah, Gorman has his artist corner where he creates the contemporary images of the Hopi and Navajo culture. “I put my mood on the canvas,” said Gorman. “What makes me happy is painting. I love it. I enjoy it. If you love what you do, then it isn’t work.”

Gorman’s work can be found in shops and galleries throughout the Southwest, including Nakai Jewelry in Holbrook, Trading Post Southwest in Pinetop, the Museum of Santa Fe in Santa Fe, N.M., and Wright’s Gallery in Albuquerque, N.M., as well as a number of shops in Sedona including Kachina House, Garland’s Indian Jewelry, Great Southwest and Tlaquepaque Village.

Condition:
Good, See Photos

Size:
Overall: 12" X 10"
Visible: 6.5" X 4.25"