Randy Eckard

Raised in North Carolina, Randy Eckard studied at the Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, Florida and the Haywood School of Craft in Clyde, North Carolina. A trained commercial and fine artist living in Blue Hill, Maine Randy’s career as a fine artist working exclusively with watercolors spans more than three decades.

Eckard is known for his use of light and shadow, with the subject of most of his paintings being light and how it defines and shapes the scene before him.  Randy’s watercolor paintings capture the timeless beauty and charm of Maine’s architecture and landscapes.

Randy has won over 190 awards for his paintings in watercolor throughout New England and the Southeast most recently winning two top awards: Best of Show, and 1st place In Watercolor at the January 2023 Beaux Arts Festival in Coral Gables, Florida. His work is widely collected and included in numerous private and corporate collections.

When asked about his career as an artist Randy replied, “I am closing in on forty years of working with watercolors.  For several years I was fascinated by the versatility and wonder of drawing with pencil and pen and ink.  An HB pencil, a kneaded eraser, and a sheet of bristol board, opened up a world of exploration in black and white.  At the urging of a friend I tried adding watercolor to the early stages of my drawings, and was soon painting more than drawing.  My love of drawing never diminished, and continues with quite detailed drawings in preparation for painting.

Inspirations pour in from the beautiful and dramatic coastline of Downeast Maine, where I have lived for many years.  The drawings, watercolors, and tempera paintings of Andrew Wyeth, have guided and fostered my sensibilities for most of my years as a painter.  Reading about the techniques of drybrush and glazing, brought to the forefront by Wyeth, revealed a method of working with watercolor where my love of drawing could be paired with my new-found love of watercolor.

As a young boy, growing up in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, I began noticing and responding to the warm glow and cool, contrasting shadows of late afternoons.  Those early observations of light would become the focus of my paintings.  Light reveals the character, color, and texture of objects, whether man-made or natural, and the alternation of lighted and shadowed planes produce powerful repeated patterns and are an important element of design.

Early on I realized how quiet observation most always reveal the life of a subject, and I learned to pay attention to sparks of inspiration, often arriving unexpectedly during my solitary wanderings along the backroads of coastal Maine.”

Eckard said, a recent meeting with a couple from Florida, who subsequently purchased one of my paintings, summed up the essence of my work in one short sentence.”  It looks wonderful, so blissfully relaxing and inviting, with a hint of mystery.”

Please note, images are for reference only.  No image can capture the depth and nuances of an original work of art as seen in person at the gallery.

Paintings by Randy’s available for purchase at the gallery – 

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Good Luck’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 24″ x 16″ Retail $4900.

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Years of Use’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 12″ x 8″ Retail $1800.

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Cedar Shadows’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 12″ x 8″ Retail $1900.

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Looking West’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 22″ x 16″ Watercolor on Paper 22″ x 16″  Retail $3600.

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Spaces Between’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 14″ x 20.5″ Retail $3600.

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Cranberry Point’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 8″ x 12″ Retail $1800.

Randy Eckard ~ ‘October Fog’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 8″ x 12″ Retail $1700.

Some of the paintings by Randy sold by Richard Boyd Art Gallery-

Randy Eckard ~ ‘These Boots’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 12″ x 8″ Retail $1800. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Classic Connection’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 16″ x 24″ Retail $4900. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘The Ell’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 21″ x 15″ Retail $4200. SOLD.

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Old Companion’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 8″ x 12″ Retail $1800. SOLD.

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Threesome’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 12″ x 8″ Retail $1800. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Antique Shopping’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 18″ x 12″ Retail $2500. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Waters Edge’ ~ Watercolor on Paper 8″ x 12″ Retail $1800  SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Remember This’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 12″ x 8″ Retail $1800. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ “Shadow Dance” ~ Watercolor on Paper 8″ x 12″ Retail $1800 SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ “Edging Into Shadows” Watercolor on Paper 15″ x 21″ Retail $3600 SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ “The Old Ways” ~ Watercolor on Paper 12″ x 8″ Retail $1800. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Door Bells’ ~ Watercolor on paper 12″ x 8″ Retail $1800. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Shades of Grey’ ~ Watercolor on Paper 15″ x 21″ Retail $3800. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ “Remembering This Place” ~ Watercolor on Paper 14″ x 20″ Retail $3800. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Late Summer Splendor’ ~ Original Watercolor 8″ x 12″ Retail $1900. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Was Just Here’ ~ Original Watercolor 12″ x 8″ Retail $1600 SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Lone Spruce’ ~ Original Watercolor on Paper 20″ x 28″ $4500. SOLD

Randy Eckard ~ ‘Garage Window’ ~ Original Watercolor 8″ x 12″ $1800. SOLD