Rick O'Brien

As one of two sons in an Air Force family, Rick O’Brien spent his earliest years stationed at various bases with brief stints in South Carolina, Taiwan, Illinois, and finally to the deserts of Arizona. Discovering art his sophomore year of college, O’Brien ultimately graduated with a B.F.A. from the University of Arizona in Tucson. A flirtation with illustration was the prelude to a life-altering voyage to Ireland and the Czech Republic, where he experienced first-hand the aesthetics that would come to inform his later work—cobblestone, wood, plaster, damp air, and pivo, or beer.

In spring 1998, O’Brien moved to Los Angeles. He has since served in various production and art departments for the entertainment industry, working as a set and property builder, designer, sculptor, toy maker, and carpenter. His more recent preoccupation visits an old passion—paint. O’Brien lives in Eagle Rock, California where he is working on an upcoming book of personal art.