Richard Schilling
b. 1933
Richard Schilling is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska. His passion for painting began at the age of twelve when he was invited to take watercolor lessons at the University of Nebraska Lincoln – the same school he would graduate from years later. During his experience in ensuing decades creating several hundred paintings, he developed his own personal style and reputation.
For many years Schilling was a missionary dentist abroad and part-time officer for Holland America Cruise Line. These rich experiences afforded him opportunities to paint on six continents, and these adventures abroad are chronicled in his best-selling book, Watercolor Journeys. So far, Schilling has authored eight art books, including Portraits of the Prairie: The Land That Inspired Willa Cather (University of Nebraska Press), The Forgotten Edge of Russia (WestBow Press), and Portraits of the Sandhills in Words and Watercolors (Chinook Wind Books).
Today, Richard Schilling paints almost every day and oversees the Smiles Without Borders Foundation he and two others created to provide free dental care for needy children.