Born in the mining town of Silver City, New Mexico, Robert G. Rivera lived there until the age of six, when his family moved to Douglas, Arizona, a move prompted by his father's respiratory ailment from the copper-smelting plant where he worked. Rivera grew up in Douglas, on the Mexican border, and retains many fond memories of the area. He was interested in art from an early age: "I've been drawing and coloring since I was six years old. I'm still doing it."

His formal art training began with his attendance at the University of Arizona, where he found great enjoyment in his art history classes. He received his B.A. in education in 1971, with a minor in art. This led to a high-school teaching career in California, during which time Rivera began taking more art classes on the side, hoping to build on the basic education he had received at the undergraduate level. After nine years as a teacher, Rivera made a decisive career move and became a graphic artist, a position that allowed him to practice his craft on a professional level while he simultaneously pursued his personal studio projects. "As for categories," he notes, "I am to the left of representational and to the right of abstract, or is it the other way around?"
Against the Right Wall
acrylics 36" x 60" ©2000