Rolla Rich

Rolla Rich had the good fortune of growing up in both Eastern (Sand Springs) and Western Montana (Columbia Falls) in log cabins with no electricity until 1956.  His grandparents raised cattle and sheep.  He spent a lot of time in the saddle as a cowboy.

  Both of his grandparents were friends with Charlie Russell in their younger days, and they encouraged Mr. Rich in his art.  After college, he was drafted into the Army for service in

Vietnam.  He rose from private to Infantry Sgt to Captain U.S. Army, 1969-1981.  He is a VietNam-era 100% Disabled Veteran, Spinal Cord Injury, and TBI (traumatic brain injury).  He is a nuclear physicist by trade.

Mr Rich earned a BA in chemistry, physics and math at  Central Washington

University an MBA from The George Washington University and Juris Doctor at Western

Sierra Law School

in San Diego. He is a certified Koh-I-Noor Silver Artist and certified Alexander Art Instructor [#101] He began wildlife and western drawing about 4^th grade at the encouragement of two uncles and grandparents who were personal friends with the late western artist  C.M. Russell of Montana.  Mr. Rich became known for pictures of 17^th-18^th century naval vessels. He was chosen as a junior in high school to do pictures of the frigate and carrier USS Ranger (CVA-61) for the 50^th anniversary of U.S. Naval Aviation.  After high school, he worked in WASH DC for the U.S. Navy Vitro Labs and

David Taylor Model Basin

doing technical drawings and engineering drawings for the Polaris Submarine project.

Specializes in Cowboy, Wildlife and Indian Art, He has received multiple awards for Oils, Acrylics, Watercolors & Multi Media Paintings, and drawings. He lives in

Spring Valley, CA

with wife Andrea. He is featured on the online gallery artoftheoldwest.com in

Idaho Falls and ROLLARICH.com.  

He has studied with artists like Robert Wood, Tom Lynch, Linda Doll, Roy Lang, William Alexander, Lowell Speers, Terry Isaac, Buck Paulson, Robert Warren, John Seerey-Lester, Ian King, Jack Jordan, E. John Robinson, Robert Hogan and others.

Mr. Rich paints in a unique style he calls Modern Indian expressing the subject matter with little to no background. He works from pen and ink drawings from which he does a serigraph and paints that using a minimal amount of paint. He can reproduce pieces, but each is an individual original in its own right.

 Mr.Rich’s works hang in private collections from the East coast to the West coast, from Florida

to California to

Seattle.