Positively one of the more unique artists to be associated with California,
Richard Dey de Ribcowsky immigrated from his native Bulgaria to the United States in 1910, and after extensive travels, settled into Los Angeles in 1920. He sought and found his prime inspiration, the sun-kissed waters of the Pacific Ocean. Marine works with active narratives and true open ocean seascapes proved to be popular subjects, although he liked to paint and took commissions for human portraits as well.
The artist had formally studied in Paris, Florence and St. Petersburg, Russia before going on to establish the Academy of Beautiful Arts in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 1904. Ribcowsky developed a technique he referred in his teachings as "Reflex Style", focused with the way natural light carries and bounces colors of nearby items to the next, blending tones in common between diverse objects. In Los Angeles, he directly marketed his paintings from the lobby of the Ambassador Hotel with great popular success and top prices.
This exceptional work of art showing a California Sunset over a dynamic sea has the dual physical nature of sky and sea in contrast and harmony. The water-vapor clouds bring the ocean upward, and the light cast reflective nature puts the sky on the water's surface. It is warm, cool and a striking painting in its large original frame chosen by the artist.
