Richard Mravik was born in the city of Nove
Zamky, Slovakia, with Hungarian decent. When
he turned 18, he was required to enter into
military service for the Slovak army for 18
months. When released from duty, he returned
to his job as a mechanic. In his spare time
he painted.
He is a self-taught artist and has painted
since he was 20 years old. His talent for capturing
reality and bringing it to life led to commissioned
works, including portraits of pets and children.
However it was his interest in nature that
fed his desire to keep painting.
In 1999 he came to Canada and was rapidly
introduced to the North American art scene.
He has traveled across central and western
Canada, camping the wilderness province by
province, to acquaint himself with Canada's
natural heritage. He plans to continue traveling
throughout Canada, for further inspiration.
The constantly changing nature surrounding
him is the infinite source for his inspiration.
He enjoys combining different elements to create
his work. With the use of oil as a medium and
only 6 colours (white, yellow, red, brown,
blue and black), the colours are mixed into
desired shades to bring his subjects to life.
He lives with his wife in British Columbia, close
to local waterways and wildlife parks, where
he can often be found quietly finding his subjects
through the underbrush, or heading along a trail
to find his next inspiration.
