Richard is a retired disabled Army veteran. He retired as a Brigadier General in 2018. A primarily self-taught artist he works in scratchboard, which is a form of direct engraving. Using such tools as a scalpel, X-Acto knife, tattoo needles, fiberglass brushes, and fine grit sandpaper, he creates one-of-a-kind originals. “Since I’m working with very small details of the human face, I must use a magnifier to get the best possible view of the scratching surface. It is considered by many artists to be one of the most difficult of all mediums as one cannot erase or paint over a mistake. A significant error results in starting the entire project over, which I’ve done on occasion.” His work has appeared in art shows in Virginia, California, New York, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Florida and has presented in a solo show held at the historic Malco Theater in Hot Springs, Arkansas. If you don’t feel some level of emotion in my work then I have failed as an artist. I use scratchboard as a fine art vehicle to evoke the full range of emotions in viewers. Much of my work captures the impacts of famine, genocide, war, homelessness, and depression. Several of my pieces depict the most respected humanitarians and former leaders in the world. My artwork of icons in music, literature, movies, and sports brings smiles and happy memories to people.