You Will Rise Project with Paul Richmond

Paul Richmond

In this profile series, Revry is highlighting authentic contributors to the queer media and entertainment community. We ask questions to find out who they are and where they are going in the future. The questions remain the same but the answers tell their unique story. It’s time to explore and celebrate true representation beyond the limits of Hollywood. 

Paul Richmond (He/Him) is an internationally recognized visual artist and activist whose career has included exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the United States as well as publication in numerous art journals and anthologies. His work is collected by individuals around the globe. As an illustrator, has created over four hundred LGBTQ+ novel cover illustrations. He is a co-founder of the You Will Rise Project, an organization that empowers those who have experienced bullying to speak out creatively through art. He is the Executive Director of Art Makes Us, a virtual creative space dedicated to providing opportunities for each individual to discover and nurture the artist within. Paul lives with his husband Dennis in Monterey, California. See his work at paulrichmondstudio.com.

What are you best known for?

I’m best known as a queer artist. For the past twenty years, I’ve been creating artwork that explores my identity as a gay man and issues that impact the broader LGBTQ+ community. Growing up in a small, conservative midwestern town, art was my lifeline. I’ve always been a daydreamer, and painting has been the vehicle that has allowed me to see many of those dreams come true - including making commissions for Troye Sivan and Dolly Parton and publishing a popular adult coloring book of male pinups called Cheesecake Boys. I am proud that my identity as a queer person is interwoven with my art, and I hope that I can help inspire others to live authentically too. 

What is the first thing you worked on professionally?

I’ve considered myself an artist since age three thanks to an incredible teacher named Linda Regula who took me under her wing and taught me oil painting. My first job after graduating from art school was a mural business I started with my friend Melissa Forman. I found that I loved painting on a large scale and working with someone as talented as Melissa really helped me step up my painting game. Today Melissa and I own another business called Art Makes Us where we offer virtual classes to help people all over the world discover and nurture their inner artists.

What are you working on that no one knows about yet?

I am working on a new painting series for a show in November 2023 called STAR GAZING that will feature large-scale, expressive, figurative work. I’m also filming new video classes for Art Makes Us that will teach people how to boost their creativity. And thanks to a grant from Turnaround Arts: California, I’m planning upcoming You Will Rise workshops in three elementary/middle schools that will empower students to speak out against bullying through art.