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George
Bleich
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For many years George Bleich has traveled throughout the world on painting marathons following a quest to master light and color. With the same passion of his mentors, Van Gogh, Cezanne and Monet, he would be painting in the half-dark before dawn on the silvered misty plains of Limeiz near Giverny, France. Later in the morning, the changing light would find him painting the sunrise along the banks of the Seine in Bennecourt, a few miles down the road. After a petit dejeuner, he would spend a full day painting at Monet's garden. Night would find him by the Seine, painting the reflections of a church's stained glass windows, mirrored on the river swirls. This is typical of his long days on painting trips. The geographical locations may change from Provence to the Polynesian lands to Alaska, but his work habits and disciplined approaches remain the same. |
| The summer of 1997 found Bleich and his
two sons painting around the world together on a great adventure. Jonathan,
at seven, was one of the youngest painters to have
painted at Monet's Pond. They painted in Australia, Bali,
Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Corfu, Paris and Giverny.
Christopher Orion, an excellent surfer, is continuing the
family tradition of painting the sea and riding it's
waves. The gallery may have to change its name to Bleich
and Sons. Bleich's beautiful paintings radiate peace and harmony. The sun rises or sets at your bidding over lush gardens, winding pastoral rivers and dynamic seashores. His love of art history and painting and experiences exploring the same areas as Renoir, Monet, Cezanne and Van Gogh have attracted individuals who own these masters to collect his work. Some feel he is taking Impressionism to another luminous level. Through his unique approach to color he is able to impart the passage of time and illusions of movement in his paintings. |
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The natural power of his seascapes reflect the love and respect he holds for the ocean. Bleich says, "The sea and my instinctive love of it, is what I inherited from my father. The sea became his surrogate father when his dad, Captain Harry Bleich, was missing in action, Dec. 7, 1942, in the North Atlantic. Bleich, like his father, went to sea at the age of 15 and sailed professionally for 12 years. He helped support his widowed mother and two sisters, He skippered his own yawl for seven years. He and his wife Kathy have been certified as PADI scuba divers. Bleich has always been respected for his natural ability to portray the ocean's reality, strength and beauty with integrity and knowledge. President Ford, President Reagan and the Secretary of Defense all received George J. Bleich works of art while in the White House and they acknowledged the breathtaking beauty and symbolism of his art. In memory of his father, Bleich created individual works of art for the world leaders who attended a NATO Conference in Monterey, California. |
| The quality of his Sierra scenes was rewarded with an artist in residency for an entire summer in the Yosemite studies of the great 19th Century painter, Thomas Hill. He refused a financial grant, preferring to give freely of his service. There are givers and takers in this world. Bleich is a giver. It matters not whether it is doing volunteer teaching in local schools or reaching out to help others in this country and across the sea in moments of natural disasters. His 5-by-12-foot triptych, Homage to Monet, is nearing completion after 15 years. Collectors have expressed a desire to purchase the piece. Bleich says, "I would rather give it to a museum to be shared by all." He says, "Some people measure success by the amount of money they make.. I measure mine by the creative legacy I leave by my actions, paintings, writings, songs and poems. It is my desire to be an honest and compassionate voice for peace and understanding in the world. It is my intent, with the help of God, to harness my creative energy to promote healing and forgiveness in personal relationships, including my own." |
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© April 27,1997 George J. Bleich