Marine painter right at home

Deepa Bharath

The ocean, which is only a few blocks away from his home, is Richard

Mazy’s biggest inspiration.

Mazy, 85, is what he calls a “marine painter.”

Most of his paintings are watercolors and blue is a color he uses

a lot. Striking sunsets, frothy surf, still waters -- he captures all

that and more on canvass.

Mazy has worked hard on his art. And he started late, at age 50.

Life was busy until then and was spent making a living and providing

for his family. Mazy was in the construction business and most of

what he saw everyday was cold steel and concrete.

But then, Mazy retired when he was 50. He wanted to take up a

pastime and art was always something he had wondered about.

He learned the craft from artists who had made Corona del Mar

their home. He drove down Coast Highway to Laguna Beach. He took

courses at Orange Coast College and Coastline Community College.

Now, Mazy has more than 200 paintings in his home.

“I’ve looked up and down the coast for galleries that will show

them,” he said. “But I haven’ been successful.”

So, he opened up his garage door and made a little gallery of it.

In addition to iron ships and seascapes, there are a few oils,

cityscapes, paintings of bridges and old doorways. Mazy has traveled

widely within the United States and Europe and he learned a lot about

art and architecture during his travels, he said.

Art may have been in his blood, Mazy said.

“My grandfather, who was Belgian, did baroque art,” he said. “But

I was raised during the Depression and we didn’t have time for art.

People were more concerned about putting food on the table.”

Mazy painted with a vengeance. He started in the morning right

after breakfast and went on until late in the afternoon.

His wife, Deloris, says she is happy her husband found a good

outlet for his creativity.

“I was working even after he retired,” she said. “So, I was

concerned that he would be home alone and bored. Painting has been

great for him. But for me it’s like a photo album. It brings back

memories of the places we’ve traveled to.”

Richard Lewis, a neighbor, who stopped by to take a look, said he

was impressed by the display.

“This is awesome,” he said. “It looks like a gallery in here.”

It’s not common for artists in the area to exhibit their work at

home, Lewis said.

“It’s kind of rare,” he said. “You could tell from the way I did a

double take and backed up.”

Mazy has also taught art locally at the Oasis Senior Center,

California Elementary School and Irvine Senior Center. He is also a

self-taught cartoonist and taught cartooning at Irvine Valley

College.

He doesn’t care how many paintings he sells or if at all he sells,

Mazy said.

“The greatest thing about art is the way it’s so therapeutic,” he

said. “It’s relaxing. It’s also a wonderful feeling to see how

creative and how original you can be.”