Grapevine artist, Rick Eakins, enjoys setting up his easel outdoors and capturing the beauty of the scenes around him. Landscapes are his favorite subject and local residents can find him on any given day out in the park, by the lake or even on Main Street with brush and canvas.
Rick Eakins grew up in Grapevine, TX, moving to the area with his family at age seven. Rick spent a lot of time raising animals and helping with the upkeep on his family’s property in rural Grapevine. He was active in FFA and spent summers working outdoors for area farmers. Art became an interest for Rick after the family moved into town. While attending Grapevine High School, Rick started oil painting, taking lessons from a local artist. After graduation from GHS, he went on to the University of Texas at Arlington where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Fine Art, specializing in Commercial Art. His professional career involved illustration and ad design for Southwestern Bell Yellow Pages in Dallas.
During Rick’s years at Southwestern Bell, oil painting was strictly a hobby. After retiring from the company in 2004, Rick has been devoting as much time as possible to painting. During this time he has been able to travel around Texas, Arkansas, and New Mexico taking digital photos and working on plein air oil paintings on location. He has studied and painted with artists, Tony Eubanks, Jerral Derryberry, Bruce Peil, Judy Gelfert and Jim Rozek. In the spring and summer of 2005, Rick attended workshops conducted by John Budicin, President of the Plein-Aire Painters of America, spending time painting with him in the Texas Hill Country and in Rociada, New Mexico.
Grapevine is still home for Rick and his wife, Barbara. They have two married children. Rick is a member of the Allied Creative Artists of Dallas, Outdoor Painters Society, and the Trinity Arts Guild.
Eakins Art Studio 