Neil Rizos was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His first five years were lived in Manomet, a small community on Cape Cod. From a home perched on the bluff overlooking the sea, his consciousness of the natural world began. The happy synergy of a receptive spirit and a place of light, water, forests and birds set the course for his life.
As a student of art, foreign languages and literature, he traveled throughout Europe and in Africa, living for extended periods in San Jose, Costa Rica; Seville, Spain; Paris, France and Quebec, Canada. Upon graduation from the State University of New York, he pursued his love of the natural world and art, working as a natural history illustrator and ornithological researcher from the Arctic to the rain forests. He has studied eagles, hawks and falcons in Montana with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management; Harris hawks in the southwest with the University of Arizona; migratory birds on the Alaskan tundra with the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and participated in other bird studies with public and private organizations in the U.S. and Canada. |
Rizos has been awarded numerous artist residencies. In 2009 he was artist-in-residence at Acadia National Park, Maine. In 2004 he was awarded a residency at the international retreat for artists in County Kerry, Ireland. Rizos was the Visiting Artist at the Adirondack Park Visitor Interpretive Center at Paul Smiths, New York in 2004. From 1997 - 2000 he was the Artist-in-Residence at Airlie Center, Virginia. He is a member of The Society of Animal Artists, The National Arts Club, The Salmagundi Club and Allied Artists of America. In 2008, he was awarded the Gold Medal of Honor by the Allied Artists of America for his etching, ‘DeWinton’s Pool’. Rizos’ etchings are featured in the book, The American Sporting Print: 20th Century Etchers & Drypointists, which includes works by Frank W. Benson, Carl Rungius, Ogden Pleissner and others. His work is in the permanent collection of the United States Library of Congress, The Acadian Museum, Quebec, The Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art and other public, private and corporate collections internationally.
Rizos travels extensively to study birds - his favorite subject - to create sculptures, paintings, drawings and original prints.
Learn more about Neil Rizos and his art at www.rizosart.com
Rizos travels extensively to study birds - his favorite subject - to create sculptures, paintings, drawings and original prints.
Learn more about Neil Rizos and his art at www.rizosart.com