For the time being, Richard Greenway, who’s known more simply as Greenway, only paints in his spare time. During the day, he drives a forklift in a warehouse. However, he chose this career precisely because it allows him to focus on his painting. The hours are flexible, and the work isn’t mentally draining. Every evening, after he clocks out, Greenway paints for four hours.
“Once I start, I can’t stop,” he says. “I have to force myself to start and force myself to stop.”
Greenway is the latest juried artist at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, and he opened his first solo show, Decathect: a verb, on July 19.
“I’m still on cloud nine,” Greenway says. “I’m so honored to be there.”
Greenway attended Virginia Commonwealth University where he majored in graphic design. After graduating, he went on to work as a designer at Scholastic in New York City. While he enjoyed his job, he decided to shift gears to do something more hands-on. So in 2010, he decided to try painting.
“I was also interested in painting, but I had never picked up a paint brush, ever,” he says.
He purchased the largest canvas in the store—7-by-6 feet, to be exact.
“I looked ridiculous carrying it home on the subway, but people respected the art and moved out of the way,” Greenway says, “it was great.”
Although the blank canvas was daunting at first, he quickly fell in love with the medium.
“I put on the first couple of broad yellow strokes, and it felt right. And ever since then, it’s still right,” he says. “It’s definitely my passion.”
Greenway draws inspiration from just about everywhere and everything. He carries with him what he refers to as his bibles—little leather-bound books that he fills with sketches of the world around him. He’s always adding to their pages, and he usually draws from a handful of his sketches to create a painting.
Greenway’s latest pieces aren’t yet on exhibit. Decathect: a verb instead displays his pieces from 2010 to 2015.
Although his artwork isn’t incredibly controversial, Greenway was hesitant about displaying one of his paintings that depicts a gun. However, he decided that it could encourage a dialogue between parents and their children about the complexities and nature of art.
“I want it to be a venue for kids to learn how to view art,” the artist says. “And I want parents to teach their kids [about] art. If they’re looking at something I did, that would be kind of nice.” // ‘Decathect: a verb,’ Torpedo Factory Arts Center, 105 North Union Street, Alexandria, July 19- Aug. 14, 11 a.m.-6 p.m., free
