About Richard

I was born in South Africa and spent the first 30 years of my life experiencing much of what Africa has to offer. My wanderlust nudged me out the door at an early age, first to Malawi and Botswana, and then to Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Zanzibar, and Madagascar. Whether over-landing in old Land Rovers across the plains of East Africa, or wading through the swamps of the Okavango, I've always been drawn to the world outside. With age and the responsibility of a family, my travels are less about dodging sharks off Cape Town's beaches or avoiding minefields in Mozambique, and more about exploring our beautiful world from the vantage of a bicycle. Most recently, my cycling adventures have been in the mountains of Europe and the unforgettable landscapes of the US. From Washington State's river valleys to Utah's red rocks, where I have discovered an endless supply of inspiration at my doorstep. Today I live with my son, James, outside the beautiful city of Boston, where we’re surrounded by some of the most creative and innovative people in the world. Being raised as an artist and educated as a scientist has given me a true art-meets-scientist approach to my work. I love to experiment, gather insights, and make bold bets on my creative expressions.

Thesis

My art thesis is that it is an illusion that we are separate. 

The seam between all living things is infinitesimally small. My work interrogates these false separations and asks questions of why we believe we are not connected. Political and economic systems benefit from dividing us, and separating us from nature. As my work evolves I hope to shine a light on this uncoupling.

The Bloom Collection

My current collection pays homage to the idea of anti-fragility. My late wife, Kristy's struggle with cancer is a case of anti-fragility that's very close to home. Our experience with cancer is that it's a thief. It steals your time. It steals your connections to the things you love. It steals your sense of normalcy. It steals the opportunities to go out into the world and be with friends, or just spend time in nature. It makes you feel invisible. But behind this invisibility is a fighting spirit. A tireless desire to be seen and heard through the veil of the noise of the disease. I hope to capture that anti-fragility and resilience in my paintings. I'm also donating a portion of every print sale to cancer research and care through the Pan-Mass Challenge. This organization connects my artwork to real improvements in cancer treatment. 

Throughout my professional career, I have expressed myself through the creation of new products and businesses. My first business was designing and printing t-shirts in my parents garage at 14-yrs old. Since then I’ve been fortunate enough to play either a founding or leadership role in several design and product companies. I’ve made some mistakes and learned from each of them. To share my learnings, I regularly speak at conferences, run workshops, write articles, and books. I'm a contributor to Forbes and a regular guest on industry podcasts. 

Informing my work is a fortunate and colorful life that has allowed me to see the world from a lot of different vantage points. My experiences include being an officer in the South African Defense Force, being a dive master on the remote Islamic Republic of the Comoros, and working across large parts of North America and Europe.

Make art, post art.