Gay Art

Here I am posting art I have created over the years from the gay, GLBT, LGBT, Queer (or whatever the catch phrase of the week is) community.

The art shown here encompases some of my gay community themed art created from about 1990 upto current.  I will post some commentary since I am constantly asked about what things might mean or what was I trying to convey to the viewer in certain paintings. Some art is Historical in the sense that I like to capture events in the community in painting.  Others are simply paintings I enjoyed creating, commission work, and simply just a pretty picture.

I have steered away from the common perspective that gay art is simply art of the male nude, or a sexual encounter between the same sexes. Though I have created nudes of the male figure who is to say it is gay art, perhaps it is only gay to the viewer seeing the art anyway.  Being in this diverse community, as an artist, I have brought that diversity into my art portfolio by portraying the culture and its many activities outside of the boudoir.

When I began painting the gay community it was after I was inspired by A David Hockney show I had seen many years at Yale University's British collection. As a young man I saw his gorgeous paintings and drawings and thought to myself "I want to do paintings like this someday." The fun thing about this was in 1996 I had a book signing of 'Rainbow Nation - 40 paintings from the gay community' in the very same building where I was inspired years before. I also got to meet Paul Cadmus at the same time, probably my favorite all time artist and the greatist figurative american artist to this day. Talk about full circle.  These two men are probably the greatest influence on my art. There are many others too such as Andy Warhol, Deni Ponty, Delmas Howe, Ivy Bottini and Georgia O'Keefe, and Art collectors and historians Morris Kight, Aubrey Walter, Fritz Lohman and Charles Leslie.

You can purchase prints and fun gift items with my art work on them here.

Artist Statement:

Color is the first thing you notice about my work. What makes it 'pop' is the placement of color and texture.  My palette is derived from the prismatic colors in the original rainbow flag which represent sexuality, healing, sun, nature, art, harmony, peace and spirit.

As a painter I am a visual storyteller. An intuitive message comes when creating the art - perhaps it is playful, calming, erotic, disturbing, political, or even sacred. I like to flirt with the issues and experiences we face in everyday life, the things we do, the buildings we construct and live in and the destination places we congregate and go to that define our lives.

Whether positive, humorous, or thought provoking, my work portrays events people relate to while creating a sense of place for the viewer.

As a person who just happens to be an artist, I am not here to ask the meaning of life but rather answer the question to life by being responsible and proactive in creating. By painting and drawing what I see, I am creating not just what I see but what others, the people who view my art work, who may also be seeing yet not noticing.  Creating art empowers me, and others to access more closely our wants, desires, dreams and hopes through the visual creative arts. 

Through the years an evolution in my art is constantly taking place, a visual re-write on my canvas and paper and as the years go by my art brings to me and my audience new insights and new visions to our changing lives and expanding our perspectives together. Being a self-taught artist, and not a skilled technician, I see myself as a medium or channel for the creative energies of the Universe to express its constant evolving.

Randy RD Riccoboni is an insightful, American born artist (California, 1960) influenced by a plethora of sights, sounds, colors, textures and emotion. In all of his artwork, abiding interests in portraiture, landscape, and human psychology have been constant threads.

This self-taught artist acquired his drive and inspiration from encouragement given him by family, friends and public school teachers. Riccoboni's profound love for art and architecture are evidenced in his paintings, landscape and portrait masterpieces; art work that captures the essence of a person's spirit, the love given from animals as well as the beauty and intensity in his land and cityscapes. 

See My Originals at Beacon-Artworks Gallery  / RD Riccoboni Studio, in Old Town San Diego Historic State Park, located at 2754 Calhoun Street. San Diego, California. The birthplace of California!

Old Town San Diego State Historic Park -- one block from the Old Town Trolley Station -- Plaza del Pasado celebrates California's golden age, and is close to several San Diego attractions. Discover traditional restaurants, one-of-a-kind shops and live musicians at this must-see cultural oasis.