Home on the Range, oil on canvas

Ronald George Straight is an oil painter who produces vibrant landscapes and animal portraits, often combining elements of both into single paintings and even individual figures. Much of Ronald’s work explores personal themes of identity and solitude.

Red Sky, oil on canvas

I really enjoy the cohesive colour scheme that Ronald tends to use in his works. Fiery oranges and reds dominate the artist’s backgrounds, often in combination with neutral browns and greys that express a prairie, tundra, or desert landscape. Most of the artist’s paintings are set in wide-open spaces, and just looking at the works gives an impression of the climate and air in a given location.

Ronald's art portfolio website

Ronald almost never includes human figures in his work – a deliberate choice, and a side effect of the fact that the paintings tend to represent and explore the artist’s own past, in which he was frequently alone. There is a palpable sense of solitude in these paintings. This isn’t to say that the paintings are joyless – quite the opposite. Each gives the viewer an impression of meditative, peaceful isolation.

Mandy in Snow, oil on canvas