Rick Blanchard

Why do we humans create images and objects? What is it that we feel we need to communicate, and especially without the use of words? I find I look at the processes of creating more than the final object. Sometimes I am quite literal and other times abstract, depending on the message I want to convey, but I want to show what I know about the world, our civilizations, our choices, our relationships.

My primary profession is as a Landscape Architect specializing in irrigation design, although I graduated with a degree in Visual Arts from the University of California, San Diego in 1974. Having a separate career allows me to direct my searches into the art realm without the onus of producing objects to pay the bills. My art exists for itself, not for commerce or value placed upon the results. I am also not bound to repeat what happens to sell, and I enjoy working in many media. I work primarily with the processes of etching on copper and zinc plates, but I also paint in oils and acrylics, work in digital photography and commercial design, do some sculpture and have recently tried my hand at pottery.