Ricardo Knowles

From the age of seven, Ricardo Knowles (born San Salvador, The Bahamas) traveled the Out Islands with his sea-going father, sketching and painting scenery and people during these trips. With the assistance of an art teacher, the early cultivation of his talent soon earned him numerous prizes in National Art Competitions. He began exhibiting his work on an annual basis in 1980 and in 1981 he was admitted to the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA. Here, he was awarded the Charles Toppan prize for creative painting and drawing ability.

Knowles' love for the work of 19th Century European artists, especially the French Impressionists, led him to travel through Europe. For two years, he researched great masters such as Monet, Renoir and Sisley and painted in the same locales they used to frequent. In 1986 he enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris, France as an independent student to further his knowledge.

From 1988 to 1995, Ricardo taught painting and drawing at the F.I.N.C.O summer youth workshops at The College of The Bahamas. In July 1998, he designed the center feature for the Anniversary stamp issue. He was appointed Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. Ricardo Knowles has long been an acknowledged master of the tropical islandscape, but is increasingly recognized for his mixed-media work and as a commission artist. He has lived in France since 1996, and his work is in collections in France as well as the USA, Switzerland, Japan and England

From: http://daguilarartfoundation.com/daguilar-art-foundation-bahamian-artist-ricardo-knowles.html