LOOK AT HIS WORK >
View ONLINE EXHIBIT >

Artist's Statement

Born 1962 in Santa Monica, CA and raised in Los Angeles, Rich has long had a deep affinity for nature’s wild places. In the mid 1990's, a part time job reconditioning sculptures awakened in him an interest in design and drawing. He soon found himself obsessed by these creative endeavors. Eventually, this led him to painting. In 1998, Rich enrolled at Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design to study drawing and painting with Mark Strickland. Though these classes proved invaluable, Rich soon realized it was the landscape that stirred his passion. He began taking plein air classes with California Art Club Signature Artist Karl Dempwolf and continued to study with him for a year and a half. Karl remains an inspiration today. Workshops with former Plein Air Painters of America president, George Strickland, followed in addition to constant independent study via museum and gallery visits, voracious reading of the most recommended art books and magazines, conversations with established artists, and always, painting, painting, painting.

Rich now competes in various juried national painting competitions and invitational events across the United States. He has won several awards for his interpretations of the landscapes he loves and his works are included in collections around the country and overseas. Additionally, he conducts plein air workshops locally on a weekly basis, as well as annual workshops in Toas, New Mexico and Cortona, Italy. Says Rich, “Where most see a tree or a mountain, an artist sees the way light gives them form. Where others see a green hillside, the artist must recognize the varied values and color temperatures that make it beautiful. This higher appreciation of the natural world is the gift an artist receives. And it’s the reason I continue to paint.”