How did you get into painting? When did you realize you wanted to do it professionally?
I started painting when I was a junior in a high school art class. It wasn’t long after that that I realized it was the best way to express myself.
Can you explain 6-point perspective and how you came to drawn in that style?
My interest was in creating total environments. I found that the restrictions of the frame of typical flat painting didn’t allow for me to explore perspective to the extent my art was leading so I developed “6-point perspective” and began exploring with the spherical canvas.
A quick definition of 6-point perspective: All the lines that create a cubical environment go to six different points on a spherical canvas. You could say they project to the north, south, east and west and above and below you. This is a system I developed back in the late 60’s. The six points of perspective create a total visual space that reads correctly to the viewer.
Fish Eye View is one of your most whimsical designs, how did you come up with the idea?
Imagine you were inside of a fish bowl and looked out, as if you were the fish inside of the bowl. The fish are all around you and the bowl is the ball. When you look through the bowl you see the total room that the fish would see above, below and all around you.
What was your inspiration for your From the Earth design?
The design on an old piece of pottery from the southwest inspired this painting. Half of the sphere is this pottery but its design becomes the substructure for the realistic scene on the other half of the sphere. Both use the same design.
Your artwork, Pantheon, based on the Pantheon in Rome is stunning. How did you come to pick this piece of history for a Termesphere design?
The unique concept and beautiful architecture [of the Pantheon] worked perfectly in the 6-Point Perspective system and it is a great example of a total space that needed to be painted on one piece of work.
Do you have a favorite art piece you’ve painted?
Because I have so many interests when I paint I need about six or eight favorites to make me happy.
How did you come to work with MOVA International?
I saw one of the MOVA Globes at a conference in Atlanta where I was showing my work. A friend of Bill French brought the MOVA Globe in and when he saw my work he told me I needed to connect with MOVA. I needed motion and MOVA needed spherical images.
Do you think your art being in motion, as on the MOVA Globe, brings out anything different or new in the piece?
All of my work has always been in motion. It was one of the first things I realized about my work, it needed to be moving. Before MOVA, I used ceiling motors and still do with my larger Termespheres. However, it is wonderful to have the motion mechanism hidden inside the sphere. It’s magical.
What are you working on right now?
I am working on two commissions. One is exploring Indra’s net which is a Hindu concept from many years ago and the other is a music themed piece. It explores eight very interesting musicians.
As the saying goes, one has to step back to see the bigger picture and for Termes, that has the inspiration driving his inspirational work. For more information on Dick Termes and his Termesphere MOVA Globes explore his MOVArt page. Also check out this recent segment done on his work from Dakota Life.