About Ricky

Ricky’s vision left him one eye at a time.  His left eye was permanently damaged in an accident while on active duty as Captain in the Army in 1993.  A logging truck slung an object through the open window of his vehicle, destroying his retina. The second accident happened years later in 2000 when Ricky’s vehicle overheated along Highway 59 in North Baldwin County, Alabama.  Ricky pulled to the side of the road to check the engine of the vehicle just as an 18-wheeler drove by and threw a large section of tire tread from the truck.  The debris hit him across his right eye and knocked him unconscious, causing permanent blindness.

Ricky has had to relearn many of the tasks that most of us take for granted.  He can no longer drive and has had to relinquish much of his independence to his family and friends.  Ricky eventually learned to depend on God’s guidance for help and support.  On the back of many of Ricky’s paintings he writes a special verse that has helped him live life in a more positive light:  “We walk by faith, Not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5:7)

All of the paintings that Ricky creates are tactile, and are meant to be touched.  He creates an outline of his subject with a raised media that allows him to feel the space.  Many times Ricky paints with his fingers in order to feel the canvas and keep his bearings.  This technique of painting did not come naturally to Ricky, who spent much of his earlier years rendering finely detailed pen and ink drawings.  Now, his focus is not on detail as much.  He now uses bold colors—something he would have never done when he had sight.  “I was a perfectionist,” recalls Ricky.  Now he says he’s learned that art is not about being perfect.