About
Ricky Watts
Born, 1980 in San Francisco, California.
As a child, Ricky Watts loved to draw, often creating comic strips involving epic battles between army ants and nuclear dinosaurs. In junior high, he and his friends experimented with spray paint under bridges around town. Fascinated with the art of graffiti, by high school he was fully engaged in painting elaborate works under the cover of night. After graduation, he traveled up and down the west coast, painting large murals and establishing himself as a premier street artist in the scene.
Looking to expand, Watts enrolled at the Art Institue of California in San Diego with an emphasis on graphic design. While in school, he worked for a print shop near campus and used this resource to market his art and design. Ricky returned to the bay area in 2003, continuing to work in printing as a designer and pre-press technician until leaving in 2008 to peruse freelance ventures.
While working in the print industry, Ricky began painting on canvas in his free time. In 2004, Watts' debut solo show "Spontaneous Combustion" received rave reviews and nearly sold out opening night. This fueled his passion to create more works on paper, canvas, metal, wood and anything else he could find. Since then, Ricky's shown in galleries in San Francisco, Oakland, New York City, London, Los Angeles, Portland, San Diego and through out northern California. His art has been featured in numerous international print and web publications, including Juxtapoz, Herman Miller, X-Funs (Taiwan), Refused Magazine, Bay Area Graffiti (book), Flo Multi-Zine and the 2012 Outside Lands Music Festival Sutro stage banners.
A member of the ZeroFriends collective, Ricky currently works out of his Sebastopol, CA studio. He can be reached through the contact section.
Copyright © 2008-2013, Richard Watts Art and Design. All rights reserved.