Ralph Goings

            Ralph Going is an American painter born in 1928 in California, where he currently lives. He received a Bachelors and Masters in California. Goings creates realistic paintings of food and everyday American life. Many of these scenes are of spaces in small diners. Goings wants to show that there can be beauty in anything, especially the most mundane settings. His artwork has been displayed internationally in places like Europe, Japan, and the United States. He has helped to shape the Hyper-Realistic art movement which began in the 1960s.

“My paintings are about light, about the way things look in their environment and especially about how things look painted. Form, color and space are at the whim of reality, their discovery and organization is the assignment of the realist painter.”

Ralph Goings 1978

            His paintings have a strong link to his childhood. He grew up in poverty during the Great Depression. As a child he would explore different artists and was heavily influenced by Rembrandt.

I love his style of artwork. They look like photographs of places that bring about nostalgia. It is also impressive the amount of detail he is able to bring about in each object.