Mar
2
2022
Richard Wilson
Art is my life, and life is something beautiful. When I make art, I want to get to the creative pulse of the human experience and reflect the beauty of the world. My love for art started from an early age watching and helping my artistic father hand paint signs for a living part-time, which lead me to a thirty-year career span as a productive professional artist, freelance and corporate graphic designer, and teacher at Pitt Community College. Whether it is pastel, oil paint, or any other medium, all of my work is created with the same hope to inspire the people who encounter it. Growing up in a rural area with a strong family network set the path for my art, and the things that I treasure most are evident in the work that I am most driven to create. My art is a blend of figurative works that are inspired by my optimism and pride of my culture with inspiring and aspirational images from high achievers and icons to historic figures. It is incredibly rewarding to be able to motivate, uplift, and educate people through my art. I have been honored with more than 150 local, national, and international awards and recognitions over the course of my career, including the Pastel Society of America’s prestigious National Arts Club Award, The Pastel Journal Founder’s Award, and recognition in the Wall Street Journal as “one the most successful artist that you’re likely to meet.” Even with all of those awards, the most rewarding part of it all, to me, is being able to connect with people at art shows and events and see their eyes light up with excitement as we talk about what my art means to them. I continue to experience those moments for the rest of my life. My work can be found both nationally and internationally in museums, private collections, art fairs and online at www.RichardWilsonArt.com.