80-year-old artist featured at JustGoods starting June 4

Staff Report

Eighty-year-old Richard La Doit Puckett will show a retrospective of his paintings at JustGoods Gallery, 201 Seventh St., Rockford. Opening reception is from 7 to 10 p.m., Saturday, June 4, and the exhibit runs through June 30.

Puckett is a graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. His abstract expressionism has captivated art fans and critics throughout the country. Having studied under the renowned artist and teacher Andreen Kauffman, Puckett brings vivid color and bold brush strokes to his work.

Now retired, Puckett has focused the past several years painting. He has spent his life working with children and adults with special needs, using art as a therapeutic tool. He began his career at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, and was most recently with The Friends House Neighborhood Center for Creativity and Non-Violence in Rockford. Puckett received the Rockford Rotary Club Service Above Self Award and was nominated for the Mayor’s Art Award in 1994.

The public is welcome to the opening reception.

From the June 1-7, 2011 issue