RICHARD FERGUSON

WHILE his previous career as the chairman of a regional bank may have required that he color inside the lines, Richard Ferguson’s lifelong creativity eventually won out, inspiring him to pick up a paintbrush once he’d left the fast-paced corporate world. “After retiring and leaving behind all of the rules and deadlines, I wanted something with freedom from deadlines, something where I could bend the rules or make my own, something to do when and how I wanted to,” he says. “On a trip through Asheville, North Carolina, years ago, I was struck by the art galleries and artists and decided to start my journey into the art world. I became a sponge, taking every online class, watching every art video and reading all the art books I could find.”

Over the past seven years, Ferguson has created a name for himself as an artist. His relationship with art is one that embraces freedom and eschews boundaries—much like it did in his childhood. “I’ve always been a doodler and loved doing art since I was young,” he says. “I was always envious of the kid in grade school with the 84-color crayon box but learned to do with my dozen. I was also constantly in trouble for drawing in my schoolbooks and on the covers.”