R. L. Rische-Baird

"Square Thinker"  oil on panel, 17.5"x 12", 2011

"A Fern Collector"  oil on panel, 17.5"x 12", 2011

"Trance Logic"  acrylic on panel, 17.5"x 12", 2011

"Two Worlds"  acrylic on canvas, 24"x 17.5", 2011

"River"  oil on canvas, 24" x 20"/14.5", 2009

R. L. Rische-Baird (or sometimes Rocky) has this to say about his what motivates him: 

a.) I acknowledge I do not understand and wish to.
b.) I attempt to understand and eventually believe I do.
c.) I realize I do not.
(repeat)

His work often plays with dualities and mysteries, objects or figures take on multiple roles, shadows become solid and reality becomes ephemeral. It is in short, unabashedly mystical, reflecting the artist's self-reflection in the face of nature. A recurring character in his paintings is a hiker/traveler figure who brings to mind the oft quoted JRR Tolkien line "...not all those who wander are lost" although the artist himself describes the figure as "acceptably lost". Both could be true, for it is exactly this kind of duality and seeming contradiction that is being engaged here. Contradictions and paradoxes are not problems that need solutions. They are the very fountain of his motivation as an artist (see above). You can view much more of his work at his website: www.rische-baird.com