Reviews of Daniel Richards Nova Scotia Art Gallery (Painter)

Fraidoon Bahram

I agree with other people being tricked into buying one of his peices. His prints are not worth the money and it is very misleading and deceiving that an artist would do this. I am very furious after buying one of his art prints. Check for genuine authenticity of the peice of art you are buying. Art is an investment that you shouldn't rush or be rushed. If you get a feeling that he is harassing you, go to another store and compare how real artists treat their customers.

Andrea Bettina Ispas

Beautiful awe inspiring art in vibrant colors that are touching the strings of your soul at the first moment you lay your eyes on them. Art is never meant to be understand and every craftsman has his own trade secrets as it should be, what exactly make the art unique and precious. It is a well known fact, that people fear what they don't understand, and hate what they fear - so fear not, 'cause there is no trick, the magic is right in front of your eyes, even if you can't see it right away.

Matthew Steele

This guy puts the artist in con artist. The sale pitch is hard and while the art is beautiful it is misrepresented. Beware, you're not buying an original painting. You're buying a photo, manipulated skillfully in photoshop with a "paining" of clear coat over the top. If the owner was upfront about what he was selling and charging reasonable prices based upon the medium then it would be okay. Instead you'll be met with a high pressure sales pitch that includes some crazy ideas between left and right brain and what art really is. Any attempts to get information on the technique and medium used will b met with deflection.

Irshad Mulla

Its a scam. Buyer beware, and talk to locals before entering. Expect high intensity sales pitches if you walk in.

Gary Carlson

These prints are beautiful but he egregiously misrepresents how they are made. When you enter the gallery there is an explanatory poster that describes the manipulation by hand of photographic negatives. I have worked with Photoshop for many years and I was immediately suspicious. These are prints made of digitally manipulated photographs. They are well done, but that is all that they are; photoshop manipulated digital photos. When I asked him if he uses digital processing, he refused to answer me.

Walter Cecchini

The paintings were not what I thought. Stunning, yes. I'm no expert but I don't think Dan sat down and painted them from start to finish, other reviewers have indicated that he starts with a digital photo. Anyway, the only reason I'd take the time to write a review is because he uses high pressure sales tactics and when we didn't buy told us to leave and don't come back. Turned from quirky to rude very quickly.

Lauren Gillespie

We stayed some time because we thought the work was beautiful even though it's just prints. He seemed quite nice until he started to chat about prices. Before he told us any prices we were straight up and told him we couldn't afford anything more than $500. He told us that if we couldn't afford that we shouldn't even been on our vacation. I've never felt so humiliated.

Chad Cromwell

Some nice work, however there is a lot of beating around the bush when it comes to finding out what medium is really being used. Upon close inspection, it appears to be prints of HDR photography with some very nice post-processing to achieve such detail. Everything was fine until we entered the last room and were given a forceful sales pitch to purchase his work. With added comments of how if we could afford a camera we could easily afford his work and that it would change our lives. We resisted and he then pointed at a picture of his family and how he needs to support them. Sorry, but this left an extremely bad taste in our mouths and it made the viewing not worth it in the end. We simply felt like it was a lure to just force people into an awkward situation. Not everyone who loves art and appreciates it for what it is has 500 to 5000 spare dollars lying around while on a vacation. Now, if there was a donations box at the end with no sales pitch, I would have dropped something in; but that's not how it was. If you do go in, be warned that you will be met with an aggressive/borderline rude sales pitch.

Brian and Kim Wittal

The art caught our attention right away,the stories and descriptions captivated us, but it wasn't until we saw what illumination did that it really captured us! Dan seemed a little eclectic when we first met him but after spending 2 hours with him you soon realize what a renaissance man he really is. Thank you my friend for the experience of a lifetime. We will cherish your art for as long as we live and then others will get to opportunity to love and enjoy it.

Jen Hinkkala

The art as well as the artist are truly inspiring! The art presents an honest sense of beauty combined with a pure reality unlike any other. Everything in this gallery is breathtaking, including landscapes depicting the sea, boats, and post modern works. He also has a collection of 3 denominational art that is very realistic. This is not to be missed!

Tor Robinson

Scary, rude owner who is selling digitized photos and will try to force you into buying these "paintings". Avoid!

Bryan Doyon

My wife and I stopped in on our honeymoon and were enamoured with Dan's art. We ended up purchasing two beautiful pieces that grace our home and would love to purchase more in the future. Dan is a friendly and talented individual and happy to speak to visitors about his work.

Bryan Doyon

My wife and I stopped in on our honeymoon and were enamoured with Dan's art. We ended up purchasing two beautiful pieces that grace our home and would love to purchase more in the future. Dan is a friendly and talented individual and happy to speak to visitors about his work.

Susan Cook

There is so much to say about Daniel. I loved meeting him and will never forget this man who is a beautiful representation of a realism I identify with. His art graces my home under lighting that brings out what he intended. I sent him a photo and he approved :o) Look at his art, imagine it at different levels of lighting, be assured it will change throughout the day and evening, and know if you are fortunate enough to own his art it will bring you a wonderful sense of magic. I'm looking at it now, wishing all of you could see it.

Kerry Brock

Just a note to let you know we finally got home and had your art stretched. It now hangs in a prominent place in our home and is just as wonderful as when we first fell in love with it at your gallery. The depth and life in your painting is absolutely astonishing and we live in Santa Fe, New Mexico - famous for great art!! Thanks for all the care you take in making your art available to us.

Donna Muller

I had gone down to Lunenburg for an Artist friends show and stopped in Daniel's gallery but only had a very short time to look around. Wished I would of gone down earlier and spend more time looking at Daniel's work and asking some questions. Being an artist and liking realism I was very intrigued by his work. The work looked outstanding.

Jonathan Tippett

I first discovered Daniels gallery when I was in Lunenburg for work in 2008. I was drawn in by one of his stunning pieces that had turned my head all week as I walked by. I finally had to go in to learn about it. I was soon involved in a fascinating and unexpected conversation about technology, technique, light, pigment, passion and the two sides of our brains, in which Daniel took the time to explain his background, his philosophy and his method. This was followed by an astounding self guided tour of his apparently magic images! He handed me a dimmer remote and I preceded from image to image, watching in awe as the scenes transformed in to a thousand different moods depending on the light hitting them. I could have stayed all day, but finally concluded my visit having arrived at a very fair price for no less than 6 pieces, which are now the highlight of me and my friends' walls. Daniel and I have stayed in touch and he continues to be a go to for beautiful, versatile, good value artwork. Worth a visit. Worth a conversation.

Daniel Haynes

I’ve purchased a lot of art over the years and my interaction with this “artist” was one of the worst experiences I’ve ever had. There are plenty of talented artists in Lunenburg ... steer clear of this guy.

R M.

Photographic works that really pop and often showcase gorgeous Canadian scenery, but it's set up in a really "hard sell" sort of way. I mean the photos are edited and printed in a very lovely way, but it's supposed to be a museum about his technique, except he won't talk about his actual technique, he tries to make it out to be something really mysterious, it just seems gimmicky, and you end up in the sales room so he can try to convince you to buy something.

Michael Gaffney

Spent over a hour with him. No prices in his store. We liked his work. We agreed on a price and then determined that the art we were about to buy were prints and not originals. We said that we wanted to think about it. He got very upset and ushered us rudely out of this store - telling us we had wasted his time. We felt manipulated and violated leaving his store. What are the facts? No prices. No original paintings only commodity copies in the gallery. Opening prices are $3,000 to $4,000 for a print. He'll negotiate down to $500ish per print. Basically a retail art store that sells prints at ridiculous prices. It is ONLY about the money - unlike what he will tell you. As previously mentioned, he appears to be a good artist but he runs his store like a con-artist. Daniel, if your work is that good then simply put a fair price on on your prints. Most people will pay $350 from a brand name artist but you are doing serious damage to your brand. I also suggest that you get some help on how to properly market your goods.

Nicolas Williams

It's worth a visit just to spark conversation. When you leave, if you look closely at the art you'll be asking yourself "what really is the difference between art and fraud"? Be aware before you purchase that all the pieces are made on a computer, and the reason there are no prices is so he can bully you into paying thousands when he will let them go for 500. But! The images are beautiful so it makes you wonder, what really is art?

Alyssa Smith

Loved our experience with Dan in his gallery. He is an amazing and talented artist. We purchased 4 paintings, and 4 years later our very young daughter loves to just look at them.

Kathy Dawn McShane

My brother and his wife have a painting and we love how the natural light changes the look of the painting. We went with them to his gallery. They had shared how the buying experience was amazing as well. I would completely agree. Daniel made our first "real" painting purchase a memory for life! I can not wait to put his painting in our home. A legacy in our family.

David Evelyn

Breathtakingly beautiful...his paintings still dazzle our friends time after time when they visit our home; their eyes light up as they are drawn into the vividly colourful and magical world of Daniel Richards. Both art pieces hang majestically in full view where they make your heart flutter and your imagination wander. On this…the 1 year anniversary of our trip to Lunenburg, one of our favourite memories of this beautiful town was meeting the artist, Daniel; a truly insightful, passionate and warm-hearted human being who welcomed us in, made us feel very special and at home. We appreciate you for sharing your special gift with us, till we meet again…David and David.

Shannon Austin

I have visited Mr. Richards gallery many times over the years and own many of his works of art. I have never in my life seen such an amazing art gallery or met such an interesting artist. The light in his art is nothing short of amazing and the time I spent with him was something I will never forget. Mr. Richards is a very serious artist and will not tolerate people who waste his time. He is in only a few hours a day each afternoon over the summer. He is retired and this is now his hobby so he tries to make the most of it. What I loved the most is how he always makes sure you can afford his original art and will treat you with respect and dignity if you do the same with him. I will definitely return to try and get more of his work and thoroughly enjoyed my interaction with him. He takes time to teach you about your own brain and how this relates to art. I believe there is no art gallery in the world like this and once you enter you cannot resist coming back again and again. I highly recommend meeting Mr. Richards. I found it to be a life changing experience.

Gary Halford

Dan is a worderful exentric person if you let yourself emerse in the experiance of visiting his gallery you will have a glorious experiance. I can say I bought peices and one of them is me favorite peice of art I own 5 years later. I dont know what art is but if its something you enjoy every day every time you look at it then the Dan Richards I have are truly art.

Dan Kipphut

Amy and I recently visited and vacationed in Nova Scotia. We enjoyed four days of beautiful coastal scenery. We arrived in Yarmouth, traveled the north coast to Wolfville, south to Halifax and then followed the southern coast back to Yarmouth. Feeling disappointed we had so much more to see and not enough time to see it. We allowed ourselves just enough time for one more stop before our ferry departure from Yarmouth and decided to explore Lunenburg. A great decision, the quaint village was enjoyable and picturesque but the most memorable event of our entire trip was our chance entering into Daniel Richards Gallery. My wife and I are surely not artists but we have both been artisans and novice photographers for our entire 34 year marriage. We have shared and enjoyed countless art galleries from the east coast to the west coast. We had done this countless times, entered a gallery, excited but not knowing what to expect. This gallery was immediately different, there was depth, the art drew you inside. Walking through the gallery, we shared a feeling of anxiousness and excitment to see the next painting but finding it equally difficult to walk away from the previous one. The gallery was full of exciting, colorful, bright, and illuminating paintings. The visual experience was stimulating and provided a clear understanding of what the artist was visually portraying, but if that didn’t capture your interest enough, each piece was accompanied by a poem which would further detail the artists inspiration, emotion, mood and feelings about the subject. We toured the gallery enjoying each and every piece making sure we had not missed any before moving on to the next room. We were sharing our favorites with each other as we moved through the gallery, the list kept growing and we both had favorites on every wall. Fortunately for us the artist, Daniel Richards was available and we were truly compelled to thank him and express our gratitude for sharing his gallery and art work. We enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the artist himself, his career, and experience. He shared a depth of knowledge about his craft that was interesting and soundly proved a life time commitment to understanding, developing, and perfecting his craft. The artist, the art work, and gallery experience was by far unmatched by any other gallery experience we have ever encountered. After viewing and reconsidering many of his works numerous times we were able to agree on one painting as our favorite and are very happy and proud to have a copy of the “ LIFEGUARD BLUE ROCKS “ hanging on our wall at home. The one thing we will surely plan differently on our next visit to Nova Scotia is to say hello and visit with Daniel Richards when we first arrive as opposed to a chance meeting at the end of our visit. Sincerely, new friends and enthusiasts Dan and Amy Kipphut

Marty Hippler

We love our art from Daniel Richards Studio. His paintings add character, life, and color to our home and have become great conversational pieces. We feel fortunate that we stumbled upon his studio while on vacation. We enjoyed the educational aspect of his studio and were delighted to actually talk to the artist himself. He explained his methods and inspiration and asked us if we would like to own a print for our home. We embraced the process of selecting our favorite works and negotiating a fair price. We eagerly awaited our prints and were pleased with Dan's responsiveness to our questions after the art arrived.

m mully

A complete con artist

Kaarlo

The art had vivid clarity and beauty. A blend of hyperrealism and naturalism that at times was hard to tell whether it was an amazing picture or painting. Some of his paintings are literally 3-d (ie looks 3d with the glasses on) and others do not even need the glasses. The skill that would take is remarkable given that it was not computer based.

Jan Seide

I must be honest, I felt conned and because I was too polite, I fell for his schtick even when I knew what was happening. There are no prices. You must sit there and listen to a 2 hour lecture where at times he insults you and I did not have the guts to say, "bye bye" We purchased a piece and got another as a "gift" and spent $1000 - way way way over priced. What he does not tell you is that they are all printed onto synthetic canvas with some of his "special stuff" which is his secret. Basically we paid $1000 for 2 prints. It is my fault, I should have walked out and I did not but just want to let you know what you will be in for if you show any interest in this man's work.

D S

My hubby and I were very much looking forward to looking around this art gallery. The owner would not give us a price on the pieces and we were told “you are wasting my time if you aren’t going to buy anything”. Then he ushered us out the door. Very rude. We wouldn’t be in there if we weren’t interested in buying anything. However because of the rude sales tactics we will never buy a piece of his art ever even though it is quite unique work. The owner should hire someone who is a nice person to do his sales for him- he would get much more business.

Steven Pink

We have made two trips to Lunenburg to enjoy Dan’s gallery and conversations with him, and we have purchased a number of pieces for our home and office. We take daily pleasure from Dan’s work and guests to our home always comment on the art and the energy it creates. Cape Breton Beach, which holds childhood memories for many in our family, hangs in our living room. Dan has captured the beach as we remember it. Gros Morne Pines is in our family room and we keep Daniel’s poem close at hand for guests to read as it tells the full story of the piece. Diamond Cove connects us to extended family and everyone who looks at that piece comments on the rope. It pulls you into a moment at the cove. A recent office change left us without a wall large enough for one piece--Rough Seas-- so we are delighted to be enjoying it at home. All in all, we have about a dozen pieces of Dan’s work, including two sketches. His view of the world, and the play with light that brings so many changes to our art throughout the day, give us great joy. We hope to be in NS next summer and will likely make a trip to Lunenburg to see what’s new in Daniel Richard’s gallery. I just need a few more walls…

No No

The owner here is running a scam, plain & simple. Be advised that this hack is selling HIGH-RESOLUTION DIGITAL PRINTS of paintings, not original paintings. He doesn’t list prices for a reason. The owner, ugly inside and out, will try to shame you for “wasting” his time once you see the laughable price and don’t want to pay it. Steer clear pleas. Heed this warning.

Shoes Shoes

Daniel Richard provides very little information about his work. When I ask questions about how he did his work he got annoyed. So it isn't evident what he is selling or what you are buying. One thing that became evident is that you are not buying what you are looking at on the wall. There are also no prices and a long drawn out manipulative process involving Psych 101 and words like cognitive dissidence thrown around to help educate you about what his art is worth. His son describes how the work is done very well on his website. This information should be shared to customers in the Daniel Richard's gallery. I I have been working in my own medium for the last 10 years which is a combination of photography and painting. My father, Daniel Richards, pioneered much of this technique... My artwork starts with my photography. I am able to capture the subtle lighting and composition of a scene using high quality, high resolution equipment. In my studio I work directly with the raw file from my camera, manipulating texture, shadow, highlight and color, deep into the classic genre of traditional fine art. The process of stenciling (isolating different areas of the image) is a key step to getting the proper balance of light throughout the scene. This enables me to achieve unique detailed quality and dynamic range in my works. Next, I use the finest printmaking equipment and materials to proof my works under varying light in my studio. Each work is screened directly to canvas using UV fade resistant pigments. Thanks to their wide color gamut, I work with billions of colors and shades. This approach allows me to fine tune my works, improving each impression over the last, over several months and years later. The artist is never satisfied! I have also chosen a canvas with an emulsion that reflects lots of light. The combination of translucent pigments and ultra bright backgrounds causes the work to literally glow in very low light environments, something I like to demonstrate in my gallery. Visited September 2015

Ruth Wiener

i was thinking of buying more art from this artist.I just finished reviewing the reviews, both negative and positive.As someone who is considered somewhat knowledgeable in art, i can only give you my opinion. Daniel Richards is an artist. Whether you consider his work a painting or an enhanced photograph, it is an original work of art. Last summer i purchased a large work called Bay of Fundy. It inspired me then and inspires me now. That is the essence of art, invoking emotion, beauty, a message, both positive and negative. You never judge an artist by his or her personality. Focus on the work product and i love his. Arthur Wiener

Randa Seif

Great paintings!