What about Richard Reinhardt? For starters, he was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland from the parents of Richard and Adele. He is the oldest of three children. Unlike his sister, Carrie and brother, Andrew, who found their talents and success through athletics, Richard found his through imagination, creativity, and a pencil.

At the age of 12, he found a great interest in comics and graphic novels. For him, the comic artists’ portrayal of rich stories and stylized characters encouraged his raw talents. At that time, most of his work consisted of drawings of superheroes that he would read about or ones created, himself. His talents were quickly noticed by his parents. Both supportive of his work, they wanted his abilities to reach its full potential. It was at this time, where Richard became enrolled at the Lutherville Art Institute. His instructor, Mr. Janifeski (or “Mr. J.”) was the art professor at Calvert Hall College and who would later become his full time teacher while he attended the High School. Mr. J. was a fair but firm instructor who believed in teaching his students the basic fundamentals. For several years, Richard would attend evening classes at the Institute learning forms, lighting, blending, perspective, and how to render objects and the human figure. Going from drawing cartoon characters to drawing complex still life objects was a completely different and challenging task. Although his first, few years were difficult each new portfolio showed his talents becoming stronger and stronger.

As he reached High School, Richard was drawing everyday on average of two to fours hours. Mr. J.’s continued tutelage further advanced his skills in drawings and throughout his four years, his knowledge and skills expanded to other mediums, such as oil paints, color pencil, ink, and charcoal. Throughout his four years of high school he received an Honorable Mention for the Maryland Distinguish Scholar Award and a Congressional Citation from former Congressman Bob Ehrlich. His talents and awards caught the attention of Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) during his senior year where he received early admission and was awarded the Marion Burke Knott Scholarship.

In late summer of 1996, Richard began his freshman year at MICA under the advance placement program. The experience of attending an “art college” was a drastic change for him on many personal levels. The social life and culture of the campus was strenuous for him to adjust to but, it never hindered his focus to continue challenging his abilities and to take larger creative risks with this work. By the end of his junior year, he found himself struggling with his soon-to-be career path. Working as a legislative intern for a County Councilman, he found himself captivated in politics and public service. His growing interest found its way into his artwork and throughout his final year at MICA, he would concentrate on producing illustrations that addressed a variety of social issues, such as: child abuse, anorexia, rape, gun control, and political figures. Some of these received serious consideration for magazine covers for Time and U.S. News and World Report.

Despite his feelings of achievement and graduating from MICA in 2000, his next four years would take him on a completely different journey. Following graduation, he was accepted at Thomas M. Cooley Law School located in Lansing, Michigan. For Richard, law school was a critical means to pursue a career in politics; however, his interests in drawing and illustration never faded. In fact, he found his art work to be advantageous during the stressful moments in law school. For him, it provided a much needed balance to the rigid studying and countless hours of reading case law.

Now, fives years out of law school, Richard is working in state politics in Annapolis, as the Legislative Director for State Delegate J.B. Jennings. With his career in politics well underway, he still remains faithful to his first passion of art and continues to freelance for private and commercial clients.