Richard Rico is a native and lifelong resident of Vacaville, California, where he and his family published the community newspaper, The Reporter, for nearly 70 years. Raised in the business, Rico was involved with virtually all aspects of newspaper publishing. It was through the evolution of the paper from a weekly to a seven-day daily that Rico's artistic side started to develop. For many years he was the paper's only press photographer. That led to his experimentation with photography as an art form. Moving later to color work, he took his camera to seashores, fields and mountains, photographing natural wonders. That led to a one-man photo show at the Coffee Tree restaurant in the 1970s. His sense of design developed over the years through newspaper page design, which included the use of photos, graphic arts and some original art to help tell a story.
It wasn't until about 1993 that he began exploring the unknown world of art. Unschooled, he started sketching, doing pen and ink drawings and, eventually, began trying watercolors. From there he moved to acrylics and gouache, and from small still lifes to large landscapes.
He served two years in the Army in the 1950s and was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, the first time he ventured beyond the confines of Northern California. He wrote home of his experiences, which were published in the family newspaper. Later, after his discharge, he started writing a weekly newspaper column, "At Ease," which he still writes after nearly 50 years. Rico's experiences, his attraction for the Southwest and being a member of a large Italian family have all influenced his art.
Artist’s Statement
