Ric Sarracino is one of Gallup’s best-known and most visible artists. With commercial signs adorning the City, at least five prominent downtown murals and too many painted trashcans and planters to count, you can see Ric’s work almost anywhere you go in town. Ric is a virtuoso of public art, but he also maintains a meaningful and prolific private art practice. This month at ART123 Gallery, we are lucky enough to be able to exhibit some of Ric’s never-before-seen work.

“I have had a long and varied career, working in different media and in different forms of art. As an artist, you must wear different hats,” says Ric. “I am successful commercially, drawing caricatures, and doing sign design and painting. I also have achievements in the fine arts, focusing on oil and acrylic paintings, charcoals, pastels, and public murals.”

As for his career in the fine arts, Ric says that he has learned from the best: both the great artists who came before him and that most unforgiving of teachers called practice. “I have been drawing as long as I can remember,” he says. “I am blessed to be naturally gifted, and through the years, I have learned to hone my technique. I have no formal schooling; I have been self-taught. My influences are the masters and I incorporate the greats into my work.”

Lake sunset by Ric Sarracino

In Reflections on Tomorrow: Plein Air Sunsets by Ric Sarracino, opening at ART123 Gallery from September 9th from 7 – 9pm, Ric shares a series of pastel landscapes in which the influence of 19th-century Impressionists is apparent. Much like the Impressionists, Ric repeatedly revisited the same outdoor subject for his paintings, observing a lake at sunset evening after evening to gain different perspectives on the scene. Also much like the Impressionists, Ric is focused on capturing a fleeting moment in time with his sunsets.

Enjoy sunset views and masterpieces at ART123 Gallery all month long. Reflections on Tomorrow will be up through October 7th.

Learn more about Ric here or visit his website.