At 95, local artist Arthur Van Rhyn, who went back and earned two art degrees in his fifties and still paints and inspires other artists. Photo by Kathleen Stout
By Kathleen Stout
You wouldn’t believe how we met – perhaps something to do with quantum entanglement or divine intervention or maybe a bit of both. I had stumbled upon a plein air painting group at San Simeon Beach one morning and struck up a conversation with one of the elders in the group. We talked for hours, and I soon found myself busting out all of my so-called paintings, desperate for feedback.
He was gracious, generous with the compliments. Inspiring. We exchanged nice to meet you and see you next week and that was that. I drove away telling my husband ‘That old man really made me feel great about my artwork.’ I felt a little self-conscious lapping up all of that flattery.
Fast forward a few days later. I was parked on Moonstone Drive next to that fabulous Arthur Van Rhyn studio/gallery that’s been a legacy in Cambria for decades. I noticed a few canvases displayed in the yard, so I ventured out of my car to look. I am awestruck peering into the windows looking at the stacks of endless paintings inside. To my surprise a man came downstairs and offered to introduce me to the artist, who is 95, and was on his way downstairs.
When the artist appeared I realized it was the same man in the wheelchair who’d spent hours with me at the beach that day, encouraging me to ‘just have fun painting’ and to ‘be free.’
“You never told me you were famous!” I laughed.
Inside the Arthur Van Rhyn studio and gallery in Cambria.
Photo by Kathleen Stout
Hours later I left the studio recharged. Repurposed. Faith restored. There was a creative electricity in the air. Born in 1929, there aren’t many gems like Arthur Van Rhyn around anymore. A former Caltrans worker who retired and returned to the university in his 50’s to earn his B.A. and M.A. in art. After meeting him it’s easy to find your bliss. This is a man who, at 95, taught me how to carve a custom stamp signature for my artwork. I felt love.
The paint had dried but the inspiration hadn’t. I had my subject, and he was an enigma, just the fuel I needed to spark my writing again. The joy de vie in his essence was contagious.
Less than a week later I was back in Arthur’s studio, perched next to the warmth of the wood-burning stove, admiring the custom design of his redwood Big Sur style studio/gallery, which doubles as both a working space and a fully operational gallery.
The entire place is his invention, his vision, his design- it exudes a history I could best describe as vintage coastal chic, a mid- century icon of creativity, and that’s just the building.
I felt I’d discovered some long-lost secret to happiness.
For Arthur, in his own words, art is about just that. “Hopefully, it’s having a good time because that is very important,” he said. “Especially at my age.” At 95, his pursuit of joy was duly noted.
“I’m way behind. I’ve got a ton of paintings I still want to do,” he says, hands waving in the air.
I looked around again, hundreds of canvases line the walls, some in stacks, some displayed. Sketches fill wood crates, easels shine with barns, oceans, coastal woods and everyday scenes come to life. I peered through the custom double-paned windows and comment on his pottery and glass from his early art school endeavors, resting atop the shelves he built himself. A hand-hewn leather and wood harmonica case he built sits atop his lap.
They do call him Art for short.
His life’s work is a testament to true genius. There’s no denying who and what this gallery is about. It’s a collection of quiet moments, reflections of beauty, gratefulness, simplicity — all captured on his unique wood canvases and immortalized in acrylic, oil, and watercolor.
“I hate the word mistake,” he said. “The beauty of this kind of painting is I’ll say ‘well that didn’t work’ and then I say ‘so what’ and paint over it.”
On the inside, I’m taking notes.
His life’s masterpiece, he says, is designing and building his studio/gallery//home and seeing it come into being. “I had a good job, and I walked away into thin air. I didn’t know what to do, but I knew what I wanted to do, and this, you know, was kind of fun. A helluva thing.”
Indeed, the custom coastal home studio is quite the work of art in itself, not to mention the thousand or so paintings living very good lives inside, his area at the Cambria Center for the Arts, or his published book of cartoons. With Arthur, art seems to just come to life.
“Just have fun,” he reminded me.
As I closed the interview, I mentioned something he told me about his father saying he had keen observation and noticed the “small things” as a child.
“Well, I was little, you see.” There’s that smile again.
When I returned to my desk to complete the story it all began to soak in. Why settle for drops of joy when the full glass was right there in front of me? With this full cup I made a toast to Arthur Van Rhyn, an extraordinary artist and an even more exemplary teacher, a master at the art of living.
Visit Arthur Van Rhyn Studio Gallery at 6576 Moonstone Dr., Cambria or call (805) 927-5576. Open daily, hours vary.
Kathleen Stout is a local artist who counts her blessings daily. When not writing, painting, or helping others, She Sells Seashells on the side.
