Richard Estes

Richard Estes (1932) is an American painter. He studied Fine arts at the School of Art Institute of Chicago. 

He is one of the many photo-realist/ hyper-realist painters that emerged in the 1960s. He is actually considered to be one of the founders of the movement with which I came across when studying American Art.

His meticulous paintings are a depiction of American popular culture; consisting usually of  store fronts, the city itself and the landscape. He always chooses daytime settings with crisp images very clean so as not to deter the attention from the main focus. 

The vividness of his work feasts the eye and I feel that the polished background looks so peaceful. Hope the vibe gets you, too.