Rick Fravor reached out to me and introduced me to the world of legally blind painting. While Rick cannot see very well, that hasn’t stopped him from the joys of being an artist. He specializes in both acrylic landscape painting and digital art. Rick describes his art in his own words, “In addition to my digital art, I am also an acrylic landscape painter. My work often incorporates biblical themes, reflecting my strong Christian faith, and aims to inspire and uplift viewers.”
Rick began painting on his own around seven years ago during the final semester of his Bachelor’s program, and said one of his major inspirations was Bob Ross. This eventually lead to Rick developing his own style, which can be seen in his paintings. Despite any challenges he has faced, Rick has received a Bachelor of Arts in Digital Art, and has worked with print for many years. Rick describes his process on how he paints a new work. “Typically I will make a quick sketch; whether that be in a sketchbook, on my iPad or just in the notes app on my phone. I can never seem to get an image out of my head until it is fully painted or at least fully detailed in a sketch. In fact, the majority of my paintings came directly from my imagination.” His tools of choice are the Adobe suite of products and ProCreate on his iPad. Interestingly, Rick told us he doesn’t utilize any special techniques to pain so well, instead he told us he simply gets close to the canvas to see what he’s painting. No secret formula, he’s just a natural!If you are interested in meeting Rick or buying some of his art in person, he attends at least one art festival per year.
This year he will be attending the Fallen Timbers Art Festival in November. Look for him in booth #26.For those who may share similar challenges in life, Rick gives some helpful advice: Just start! Nobody is perfect when trying to create or do something their first time. Don’t worry so much about being perfect or nervous about how others perceive you. Just do it if you can, and you will get better in time. Starting out in the beginning is the hardest step, but after you get started, you can develop your own style.Rick is 100% correct, and to any emerging or struggling artist out there, remember to keep pursuing your artistic dream. Nobody else is as qualified as you are, to create your own distinct style. He runs his own shop online where you can purchase either his digital art or one of his acryllic paintings. Rick is also running an ongoing GoFundMe for himself. If you find Rick’s story to be inspiring and would like to support him, feel free to donate a bit of money. Or instead, if you would like to help him in another way, be sure to reach out to him over email.