It is no surprise that some people might wonder if R. S. Riddick has retired. He has not. In fact, the nearly 70-year-old artist has been very busy making some of his most meaningful work ever. He has also acquired a new ranch studio and a clear perspective on the messages he wants to pass on through both his art and his life.

For more than 40 years, Riddick had made his home and studio in southern Arizona, though he has always had a genuine longing for mountains. “Your faith becomes alive there, nature becomes a profound teacher, and people seem genuine,” he says. To be near family, he and his wife Natalie made Tucson their home base, venturing each summer to the high country of Colorado, Idaho, and Montana where he gathered visual inspiration for paintings created back in his studio.

Read the full article in the May/June 2022 issue.

Buckeroo Beginnin’s

Oil
32” by 38”

“It’s the cowboy way. Important things like love of God and country, integrity, respect, work ethics, and family bonds prevail. Time-honored traditions are a generational way of life for the American West ranching families. This cowboy dad now passes on his very first saddle to his young son. With their faithful ranchhand Aussie always ready and ancestral anvil keeping horses sound, this painting celebrates the life bonds that tie.”

Mulies

Etching
9” by 10”

“After rekindling my love of printmaking since the process became a safer eco-friendly, less hazardous studio experience, I ventured into creating 15 Western etchings. This small, limited edition, handmade, hand pulled intaglio etching, ‘Mulies’ pictures the delicate and poetic character of these wonderful deer.”