Richard Bloch has died. He was an artist and the co-owner and chef of the successful Autumn Breeze Restaurant in Eureka Springs.
Richard approached me a couple of years ago about having a one-person show of new paintings at The Space. “I didn’t know you even painted, Richard.” “I just started,” he said.
He confided his muse was a broken heart and that he obsessively started painting into the wee hours of the morning at his restaurant after it shut down for the evening, turning his kitchen into his studio.
The result was an explosion of work that filled the large walls and floor of The Space. His Pollock, Rothko, Klein references were obvious, but there was passion in every stroke. It was a great exhibit and I was glad to be a small part of it.
We traded our homemade goat cheese for loaves of Richard’s bread, the kind that has the golden, crunchy crust on the outside and that’s fluffy white on the inside, the kind of bread you usually only find in Europe.
The last time I saw Richard was on Spring St. about a month ago. I asked him how he was doing. “Great,” he said. “I’m in love and getting married, and I’m painting.”
Hi Richard,
We came upon this post about Richard Bloch, who we knew when he lived in San Francisco. He and my husband John were engineering students together.
The other night we were talking about Richard which led to googling him which led us to his obituary. And then we were sad.
Can you tell us what happened to Richard? How did he die?
Great to hear about his paintings. When we knew him he was doing photography. A Renaissance man.
Hope to hear back from you.
Jenny O’Connor
Sorry for the long delay – Richard owned and operated Autumn Breeze restaurant in Eureka Springs. He truly was a renaissance man. I’m not sure of the exact details but he died while in the kitchen of his restaurant. A massive heart attack, I’m not sure, but it was fast and sudden. A big loss to our community. I hope this helps. John