René Rickabaugh
René Rickabaughpaints with a virtuoso's skill and imagination. His astoundingly intricate paintings are like treasured, iconic gems. The amazing detail he brings to these small works, whether it’s a depiction of a bird or fruit basket, takes you into a fantastic world of wit and whimsy. His incredible imagination provides a wealth of wonderment intimately taking the viewer into a private place. A place highly elaborate created in gouache or watercolor and presented within hand built, embellished frames. His painterly skill is truly a wonder to behold and, in this exhibition, appears on the surface of handmade vessels also. His whimsy gives the work humor, but his sense of beauty takes the viewer into a whole new dimension.
René Rickabaugh has exhibited his work since 1972 in numerous shows, including exhibitions in Portland, Seattle and New York. He received his BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art, where he also taught from 1984 to 1987. He has had one-person exhibitions at the Portland Art Museum, the University of Oregon Art Museum in Eugene, and the Allan Stone Gallery in New York. His work is in many private and public collections.