Artist Bio

Ria Kilker, MFA 

As a fine artist, Ria is interested in exploring the qualities of light and color in traditional, representational work.  She works in oil and watercolor painting, sculpture and enjoys sketching and studying the natural world. Ria’s esthetic places her as a part of a long continuum of landscape and still life painters. In addition to the representational quality of her work she chooses classic mediums and techniques within which she can still create freely. She enjoys the process and physical craft of painting and keeps refining her skills with direct sketching as a way to explore forms.

Ria has always been interested in art and design and from a very young age was encouraged to pursue her interest in drawing and crafts, one of her fondest memories with her grandmother, Frances was while admiring her drawings of a rainbow pegasus, from then on she identified herself as an artist.  She earned her MFA from George Washington University in Washington DC and received full scholarship as a teaching assistant her final year. She has since studied with Alexandria Art Student’s league, The Center for Contemporary Art, The School of Visual Arts, as well as attending

If not working or painting in her studio, Ria enjoys the outside world, particularly backpacking in remote wild locations. She is a dedicated equestrian.  An avid yogi, Ria enjoys a daily practice of yoga and meditation, A friend to all animals, she is particularly attached to the German Shepherd breed and is active in the rescue community. Her dog, Kanga, is frequently at her side during painting sessions. 

Ria enjoys being a part of a wide community of artists and is a member of NJ Plain Air Painters, National Society of Equestrian Artists, National Landscape Painters Society.

 As an emerging artist, her work was recently exhibited in Maplewood Art Walk and her work is in numerous private collections.