Yasuko Riggs

Yasuko Riggs’ Art Biography

Yasuko Riggs, Artist/Web Page Designer and a member of the Springfield Art Guild (SAG) in Virginia, has been painting since her childhood in Japan, where art courses were mandatory from the first grade. She grew up surrounded by flowers in her house because her mother taught the art of “Ikebana” (flower arrangement) to young women before marriage.

Yasuko accompanied her husband, a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, to several overseas posts where she painted whenever she had opportunities. With American Ambassador’s approval, she sold some paintings locally.

Yasuko’s favorite subjects are flowers, which she grows in her garden, and scenery with rocks and trees. Her favorite media are tempera paint and mixed media (watercolor and India Ink). She started taking photos of birds and flowers in her own backyard in Virginia and enjoys gardening as her source of painting. She believes that an artist’s choice of matting material, its color, and type of frame is also an important part of the artistic expression.

Yasuko became a member of the Springfield Art Guild in late 2005 and also became a member of the Guests Gallery (an internet art gallery at http://www.guestsgallery.com in May 2010, now inactive). Her photo submissions, “Cardinal Surveying” and “Math Lesson at Airport” were among the top 15 vote-getting art pieces in 2011; in early 2012, her photo, “Cardinal Pair” was the 6th most voted photo at this Web Gallery. Yasuko showed her art works at the Guest Gallery for three years while the gallery was in operation.

Yasuko’s “Cardinal Pair” photo also won the first prize in 2013 by getting the most votes by viewers at the Franconia Government Center’s Art Show, which was hosted jointly with the Springfield Art Guild. Another cardinal photo, “Two Male Cardinals”(shown above) won the third prize by popular votes in 2014.

Yasuko obtained a certificate as Web Page Designer via an Internet School and created and displays her work at her Web site, www.yriggsartwork.com.