The Man Behind the Brush- Ric Skees: LifeWork
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
Artist Ric Skees has been a fixture around The Art Center for many years, perfecting his craft in the Clay Studio, offering classes on advanced watercolor techniques, and acting as a juror for one of our exhibitions. Now his impressive body of multimedia work is on display at The Art Center in a poignant retrospective of the last 30 years of his artistic career.
Ric Skees is a “self-proclaimed ‘recovering architect’” now pursuing his “Renaissance Man Merit Badge.” He is originally from West Virginia but studied architecture at the University of Cincinnati. This line of study set him on his defining career journey, but it also led to meeting his wife, Tina. Years later, they moved to Johns Creek to be near her job and to have an excellent school system for their son.
Skees’ architectural background has had a profound impact on his art career and the defining methodical approach to his work. Just looking at his art, particularly his porcelain work, you can see the echoes of his architectural training in the precise construction of each piece. He puts profound focus on composition, carefully constructing his pieces through that lens.
“Architecture is where I work with proportions, sheet composition, line weight, and perspective,” Skees says. “Object lighting and 3D study from rendering work also applies. When I approach architectural subject matter for a painting, I usually zoom in and work with an arrangement of simplified objects in shallow space.”
As the work in architectural offices shifted more heavily to computer use, Skees felt he was losing touch with the drawing and presentation skills from earlier in his career.
“It was also apparent to me the world was being oversaturated with digital and virtual images, so I set out to re-tool my skills to allow for a more human and personal response.”
He began his art journey in 1995 in response to this increasing prevalence of digital work in his field. Watercolor painting and charcoal sketching allowed him to regain the sense of the personal touch and real-world grounding that is harder to achieve through digital means. He cites artists Alex Powers and Neil Watson as mentors who greatly influenced his painting process, and further says that “photography has had a major influence on my art, providing essential reference material and inspiration. Music also impacts my creative process.”
For thirty years, Skees has worked hard to hone his artistic skills and vision. “Finding something extraordinary in the world around me has always been my goal. Once it is seen, then comes the challenge of figuring out an appropriate method of expression,” he explains.
LifeWork is the culmination of those thirty years of practice.
“I curated the collection by reviewing my body of work from the past 30 years and grouping pieces into the ‘chapters’ of my journey… My architectural background was used to draw all the existing wall elevations, an axonometric and a floor plan that were used for the final layout.” Skees spent many hours at The Art Center at the end of 2025 carefully constructing the experience he wanted to evoke for people who visit the exhibition. The same meticulous dedication so evident in the work itself went into every aspect of the display of that work.
“Sharing this body of work with others is both scary and satisfying,” Skees says.
The exhibition will be on display through January 30, when we will have an Artist Reception from 6:00-7:30 pm. We invite everyone to come by to see the work and meet Ric Skees (ask him about his time learning fencing with a former Olympian!). Light refreshments will be served, including free wine, and it makes for a lovely night out! The reception is free and open to the public, so we hope to see you there!
