Artist of the Year: Rick Young 🎨

Rick Young headed west after earning an art degree from Miami University in Ohio. Initially focused on the high country, Rick’s attention shifted to the expansive mesas and canyons of the Southwest after he and his wife built a log cabin in southern Colorado. He has long found his artistic inspiration in the land and peoples of the Southwest. Rick celebrates this region through colorful, rhythmic paintings.

Now retired from a teaching career, Rick paints full-time from his home in Castle Rock, CO. A longtime advocate for our national parks, Rick completed artist residencies at Mesa Verde National Park (2019) and at Capitol Reef National Park (2021). Rick’s landscapes highlight the beauty and inspiration to be found on our public lands.

Rick is represented by Acosta Strong Fine Art on Canyon Road in Santa Fe and by Mirada Fine Art Gallery in Denver.