Jean Richardson

Nationally acclaimed artist Jean Richardson is rooted in Oklahoma, but her vision of the American West has touched audiences far beyond our state’s borders. Her evocative, abstract paintings of horses hang in permanent collections and galleries from Tulsa to New York to California. Now in her 80s, Jean continues to create several large paintings every month.

Evoking the Spirit of the West

Jean’s paintings feature deep jewel and earth tones, a richly textured background, and large canvases. Focusing on imagery of the Frontier West, she uses the horse as a motif to express the themes of energy and motion.

She begins each work as a purely abstract painting. “I start by splashing color on it and then let the subject come up,” she says. “The image is there, but it doesn’t hit you in the face.”

Horses were a natural subject choice for her. A rancher’s daughter from Hollis, Oklahoma, she has known and loved horses her whole life. “As a child I painted everything I saw—flowers, bridges, trees,” she says. “By college, I focused on figures, landscapes, and horses.” Over time, horses became her primary subject.

It’s impossible to capture the full majesty of a horse in motion with a photograph. Jean’s free-flowing, atmospheric style suggests the animals’ power and spirit in ways that representational images can’t. She says that for her, horses function as a metaphor for the human spirit—unbridled, energetic, and sometimes heroic.

A Lifelong Passion

Jean took art lessons when she was growing up, then continued her education out of state. She earned an arts degree from Wesleyan College in Georgia and studied at the Art Students League in New York before returning to Oklahoma.

“My parents begged me to learn to type so I could make a living as a secretary,” she recalls. “I never did.”

Instead, she worked for a few years as an art teacher before pursuing painting full-time. She quickly became established as a regional artist. From there, she went on to do solo exhibitions across the country. 

She continued her work even while parenting a large family. She gave birth to three children and raised four more from her husband’s previous marriage. “It was perfect because I didn’t have to be away from the kids while I worked,” she says. When the children were young, she worked on the floor, while they toddled around her. Incredibly, they never touched her paintings. 

As her family grew, her career did, too. She’s been featured in numerous magazine articles and an OETA documentary, and she is the subject of a book, “Turning Toward Home, The Art of Jean Richardson” by Joan Carpenter Troccoli.

Leaving a Legacy

Jean lives in Northwest OKC and has enduring ties to Edmond, especially the University of Central Oklahoma. A recent painting, Momentum, was an inauguration gift to new President Todd Lamb and now hangs in his office.

She keeps regular hours, showing up in her studio at 8:00 a.m. every workday. She never has to force herself to go to work. “I want to paint as long as Georgia O’Keefe did,” she says.

A lifelong champion of the creative artist, Jean served two terms on the Oklahoma Arts Council. “I care deeply about the arts being available to children around the state,” she says. “Not just visual arts, but all the arts.” 

For aspiring artists, Jean offers these words of encouragement: “Do what you love, keep your gumption, have something else to keep you going, and don’t let anyone crowd you out.”

You can connect with Jean online at jeanrichardsonstudio.com or find her work at JRB Art at the Elms, 2810 N. Walker, in OKC.