Living amid the sights of Santa Ynez wine country has its advantages for artists, who don’t have to go far to find inspiration. The vines stretching in the sun, the golden rolling hills, and the overall agricultural feel feed the artistic mind.
Richard Rice was reminded of that truth recently when he moved back to the valley.
He initially worked in the graphics field. Rice enjoyed a successful career in the advertising and design business until he moved to the Santa Ynez Valley in 1979. There, he developed ranch real estate, and his passion for painting was born.
The art once again turned into a hobby when, in 1983, he relocated to Southern California’s Newport Beach to form another advertising and design firm. He finally returned to the Santa Ynez Valley last year, and now he enjoys painting full time.
The valley was, as always, inspiring, but so was the time of year.
“I just moved back to the Santa Ynez Valley, and the vines were just turning color, and they were so vibrant I thought, ‘I can’t miss this opportunity,’” he said.
So Rice went to work creating the paintings currently on display at Los Olivos Gallery, capturing the essence of the Santa Ynez Valley. The oil paintings are all framed in barnwood and depict landscape scenes from the valley. They’re also relatively small creations for Rice, averaging 14-by-18 inches. Many of the scenes capture colorful vineyards, though a few focus on other objects commonly seen in the Santa Ynez Valley.
“There is a plethora of really old, worn-out tractors in the valley,” Rice said.
Several of his paintings depict the beauty of the golden hills contrasted by the old, rusty tractors.
All these details mark a departure from Rice’s usual methods of work. Living in the Newport Beach area for the last 20 years, he was steeped in creating works that centered on the sailing lifestyle.
His work has been described as contemporary impressionism, drawing inspiration from plein air painting on location, as well as in-studio work.
He’s won awards in the Mission Capistrano show, San Clemente show, the Southern California Plein Air Painters Association competition, and the Laguna Plein Air Painters Association. He studied with Ken Auster, John Cosby, John Budicin, and others, was represented by the Judith Hale Gallery of Los Olivos, and participated in the popular Los Olivos Quick Draw art event.
These days, Rice keeps himself busy with commission work, but he loves to explore his Santa Barbara County surroundings, finding inspiration to feed his passion for painting.
“Since I’ve returned to the Santa Ynez Valley, painting keeps me off the street,” he said jokingly.
Arts Editor Shelly Cone sees paint on the street. Contact her at scone@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jan 19-26, 2012.
