Palos Verdes Teen to Showcase Art at Harmony Works

Four months after picking up a paintbrush for the first time, a Palos Verdes Peninsula High School senior will debut a series of portraits next week in a show at a Redondo Beach gift store in Riviera Village.

Ross Bucher, 17, began painting with the goal of designing a project for Art at Your Fingertips, a program from the Palos Verdes Art Center that brings art projects to Palos Verdes schools. His inspiration? "Speed painting" artist Denny Dent, according to Royce Morales, co-owner of Harmony Works, where Bucher's paintings will be on display.

Bucher has never taken an art class.

"The idea of an artist having a specific style is not something Ross identifies with," writes Morales in a news release. "He paints famous performers from all eras, making sure that each painting reflects, more than anything else, the style of the person portrayed."

"My goal is not to produce art, but to make the art of entertainers and performers visible in a separate medium," Bucher said in a news release.

Writes Morales, "Almost every painting starts the same way: A brush, black paint and loud music. The brush is quickly thrown aside, for Bucher finds he has a lot more freedom using his hands and fingers. This freedom allows him to be more expressive than he would with the confines of a brush. 

"Most paintings are done within a few hours and are stopped when he feels that the performer is recognizable, not just physically, but by the overall style of the painting itself."

An opening reception for the show—and a painting demonstration by Bucher—will be held Jan. 10 at Harmony Works, located at 1911 Catalina Ave. in South Redondo Beach.

The show will continue through the month of January.