Floral perfection

The strive for perfection is clearly evident in Rene Rickabaugh’s Paintings. Known for his “molecular” images of flowers and birds, the Portland painter draws the eye into a world of precision, color and mystery suggestive of folk art from Mexico, the Middle East or India. Looking at the paintings it’s hard to believe a human hand made such small and numerous delicate marks. Even more staggering is that he paints in water-colour.