Richard Gilbert was born on a small rural farm in East Texas in 1943. He began drawing in the second grade and continued to sketch and compose images throughout his childhood. Classmates remember comic books he made for them, and later, while serving in Vietnam, he drew portraits of soldiers’ wives on request. His first formal art training was at North Texas State University (UNT) in Denton, Texas. He received a BA degree in Advertising Art in 1970 and MFA in Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking in 1974. The medium which attracted him the most during his early adulthood was serigraphy, with which he produced many serigraphs as a full time professional artist. His work has been shown throughout the years at many competitions, exhibits and galleries.
In 1974 he and his wife Jan started a screen printing business, Gilbert Graphics. Works produced included screenprinted editions for hotels, offices, hospitals, banks and private residences. Later the business printed advertising, including signs, decals, banners, and posters. In recent years, Richard turned his attention once again to drawing. He has produced many graphite drawings, both in portrait and genre subject matter. He now lives with his wife in Waco, Texas.
