Ricky Watts

Richard Watts’ early creative journey was fueled by a fascination with cartoons, skateboard graphics and comic books. In high school, he would barter his drawings for lunch funds. It was during these years in the mid 1990’s that Watts discovered the underground world of aerosol art. Captivated by the possibilities of spray paint, he immersed himself in the medium, creating elaborate pieces under the cover of night. After graduation, he traveled the West Coast painting large-scale works on every surface in his path.

In 2000, Watts enrolled at The Advertising Arts College in San Diego to study graphic design. He worked for a decade in the print industry as a pre-press technician while devoting nights and weekends to his fine art practice. Over the years, he explored a range of styles, from H.R. Giger inspired bio-mechanical paintings to intricate illustration—before arriving at his signature abstract style of “hard-edge gradients.” Developed in 2012 as a deconstruction of the typography he once painted on walls, this discovery became a turning point in his career. From then on, Watts committed fully to the luminous color fields and layered depth that now define his work.

Watts’ paintings are rooted in process as much as inspiration. His compositions are built from six carefully chosen shades of color that transition seamlessly from light to dark. By layering gradients, he creates depth, rhythm, and movement that feel both structured and organic. While largely abstract, his works occasionally incorporate recognizable imagery—landscapes, clouds, and natural forms—that bridge the familiar with the imagined.

His creative practice is also shaped by his physical approach. As a left-handed painter, Watts often begins at the top right corner of a canvas and works backward across its surface, a rhythm that influences the flow of forms and their interactions. He approaches each painting as a dynamic balance of opposites: warm hues against cool shades, solidity against movement, light dissolving into shadow.

Ultimately, his work is an exploration of color as both form and feeling. Each gradient is a meditation on transition, a study in the subtle shifts between extremes. It is in these spaces—in the movement from one tone to another—that Watts finds his greatest joy and what he hopes viewers will experience: a sense of harmony, energy, and wonder.

Today, Watts’ murals and canvases can be found throughout the United States. His clients include Google, Louis Vuitton, LinkedIn and the Outside Lands Music Festival. He currently works from his Northern California studio while raising energetic seven-year-old twins.