The Long Road Home Painting

RICH THISTLE is a multi-disciplined, Canadian visual artist respected for his aviation art as well as watercolor and acrylic landscape paintings of Ontario's lake country. His work extends to abstract and other subjects including horses, cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, sailboats, canoes and erotic art. His original paintings are in the collections of the Canadian War Museum, Jersey Museum Channel Islands, HRH Prince Charles, 431 (AD) Squadron Snowbirds, Canadian Forces Base Greenwood, Bombardier / Canadair, Penn West Energy and numerous other corporate, military, public, museum and private collections worldwide. His images have been published as limited-edition litho prints, posters and collector plates. Over his career Rich has also designed and created original stained glass, furniture, pottery, whips, knives and works in leather, as well as designing and building two homes. Rich has been profiled on national television and radio and his images appear on the covers of Canadian, American and British books, magazines and in television documentaries. One of his aviation paintings is depicted in bronze in the Royal Canadian Mint's Canada Remembers medallion set commemorating the 50th anniversary of D-Day in World War 2. In Nov. 1998, Rich completed a year-long project which produced an exciting public art installation THE HEART OF STRATFORD, including 23 original acrylic paintings. These works, a visual art tribute to historic and current Stratford, are permanently mounted across the front of Stratford Place, a commercial / condo complex in the heart of downtown Stratford Ontario. In early 2000, Rich was commissioned by the Snowbirds, Canada's military aerobatic display Team, to create a painting celebrating their 30th anniversary. The painting FLYING THE FLAG was published by the Snowbirds as a limited-edition print with artist proofs personally co-signed by Rich and the entire 24 member Team. The following year Rich painted DOUBLE DIAMOND RADICAL TWINS, also published as a limited-edition print, co-signed by Maj. Bob Painchaud, Commanding Officer/Team Lead 431 (AD) Sqn. Snowbirds 1999-2000-2001. Rich was proud to be asked to contribute his painting ONCE UPON A TIME to be included in the book DIANA IN ART, compiled by Mem Mehmet, the book, published in 2007 was hailed as... "one of the most must-have coffee table books of the millennium" ... by ATTITUDE MAGAZINE.