Robert Richey

"I work at a quick pace allowing me to capture the essence of the moment in a single sitting and to explore many compositional ideas on paper."
-Robert Richey

After working for twenty-five years as an aerospace engineer, Robert Richey decided to devote himself to painting and drawing. He has painted with watercolors throughout his life, including his years as an engineer. In 1990, Richey started to experiment with soft pastels. Finally in 1996, he began to concentrate exclusively on art. His most frequent subject is the landscape of Bucks County, and like one of the area's most famous painters, Edward Redfield, Richey completes most pieces in a single sitting. He compares his paintings to short stories. Despite having worked as a full-time artist for a relatively short time, Richey has quickly become part of the local art community through exhibiting at the Woodmere Art Museum, the Trenton City Museum, and Phillips' Mills Annual Art Exhibitions.

Education and Training
B.S. in Aerospace Engineering, Penn State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, 1971
Self-taught as an artist

Influences and Teachers
Robert J. Richey, father
Seth Fetteroff, painter and uncle
French Impressionists, Post-Impressionists, Bucks County Impressionists

Connection to Bucks County
Richey moved to Warminster, Bucks County in 1973 after graduating from Penn State. Before devoting himself fully to art, he worked as an aerospace engineer at the former U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center in Warminster for twenty-five years. Robert and his wife Linda, who was raised in Southampton, Bucks County, were married in 1983. They have two sons, Bob III and Andrew.

Artistic Community and Colleagues
Robert Beck, Gail Bracegirdle, Christopher McCall, Susan Roseman, Helena van Emmerik-Finn

Major Exhibitions
Phillips' Mill Annual Juried Art Exhibition, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 1980, 1994-2001
Philadelphia Sketch Club Group Exhibitions, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1993, 1994, 2004
Bianco Gallery Annual Juried Exhibition, Buckingham, Pennsylvania, 1994, 1996, 1999
Bianco Gallery Group Exhibitions, Buckingham, Pennsylvania, 1994-2003
Woodmere Art Museum Annual Juried Exhibition, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005
Artsbridge Annual Juried Exhibition, Stockton, New Jersey, 1998-2002, 2004
Cheltenham Center for the Arts Annual Awards Painting Exhibition, Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, 1998
Bucks County Landscape Tradition Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, New York, New York, 2000
International Exhibition of Works on Paper, Philadelphia Watercolor 99th Anniversary, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2000
Urban Images, Community Arts Center, Wallingford, Pennsylvania, 2002
Ellarslie Invitational, Trenton City Museum, Trenton, New Jersey, 2002
Riverbank Arts, Stockton, New Jersey, 2002-present
Artist of the River Towns Exhibition, Philadelphia Sketch Club, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2003
Group Exhibitions, Gallery of Fine Art, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 2003-2004

Major Awards
Achievement in Drawing Awards, Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Annual, 1993, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001
First Place, Philadelphia Sketch Club Juried Pastel Exhibition, 1994
North Penn Art Award, Bianco Gallery Annual, 1994
Elizabeth Coyne Memorial Prize, Woodmere Art Museum, 1996
Nancy Weiner Award, Bianco Gallery Annual, 1996
Cape May County Art League Awards, 1997-2004
Award of Merit, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, 1998
First National Bank and Trust Company of Newtown Award, Phillips' Mill Annual Art Exhibit, 1998
Award of Distinction, Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, 1999
Bob & Joyce Byers Award, Phillips' Mill Annual Art Exhibit, 1999
First Place, Community Art Center Small Works Exhibition, 1999
James A. Michener Art Museum Purchase Award, Artsbridge Annual Juried Exhibition, 1999
Marguerite & Gerry Lenfest Award, Bianco Gallery Annual, 1999
Albert W. Lofgren Prize, Woodmere Art Museum, 2000
Award for Painting in Memory of Arthur D. Ricker, Phillips' Mill Annual Art Exhibit, 2001
Fourth Place, Artsbridge National Art Exhibit, 2002

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Workshop, Studio Group, Wilmington, Delaware, 2000
Juror, Doylestown Art League Juried Members Show, 2000
Juror, Bux-Mont Art League, 2004
Juror, Pennsylvania Guild of Craftsmen, 2004-2005

Affiliations and Memberships
Artsbridge
Woodmere Art Museum