I was born in 1966 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I currently live outside New Orleans with my wife and two children. For the majority of my life, I was a manufacturing engineer who was a workaholic. I was artistic in my youth, but the more corporate success I found I realized I never used my artistic talents. I'm really into nature and to relieve stress I started picking up driftwood and creating horses out of it. That turned out to be a big hit. Then one day, my son encouraged me to pick up a paintbrush and start painting what I felt and saw. When I look at objects - I see shadows of color. I call it Free-Spirited Reality. I like to 'tune into' what the subject I’m painting is telling me. Every one of my paintings are one of a kind - unless you purchase a print. In each one, I see something new about the subject. With Marilyn, I see two distinct personalities - one vulnerable and out of control, and one calculating and in complete control. I wanted to convey that. With Jimi, I see a very kind and gentle genius who feels a little lonely and ahead of his time - yet loves the way music makes him feel. Einstein was this mischievous and playful genius with a serious mind for detail and a brain that couldn't stop thinking. I think every person has a sense of inner duality going on inside them - I like to capture that on canvas. Many clients who've known the subjects I paint personally - tell me I've encapsulated their essence with remarkable accuracy. I guess it's all those years of having to 'read' people in the corporate world, but art is way more fun and exciting. I get to smear paint all over my subjects and freeze them on a canvas.
- Richard "Rich" Greenwood