Painter Richard Hawk's expressive works depict the figure in captured moments. Strong design, vigorous line, and compelling renderings of human forms and faces create the energy and emotion for which his work is known.

A non-traditional approach he brought to painting in water media led to his rise as a figurative painter in southern California. The medium of oil paint offered avenues of greater size and range.

He has said that he paints the inner life of his subjects, drawing on intense observation and an affinity for the psychological and spiritual messages that the human figure can suggest.

Richard's paintings are in a number of collections and have won awards in many national and international exhibitions.

Characteristics of the work are tensions between thinly washed and thickly textured areas, between line and shape, between echoes of classical themes and a sharp contemporary handling. The ethereal beauty of his subjects, contrasting with the raw energy of backgrounds and other compositional elements, often gives the works a striking quality.