Richard B Hunter

Richard B. Hunter, 91, passed away peacefully on the morning of Saturday, February 26, 2022, at Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley, California. He had come to the end of a very long road battling dementia, various medical conditions, and finally, a short bout with Covid-19 that proved too much to overcome.

He is survived by his children, Jan Praytor, David Hunter, Lynn Hale, Beth Hunter, Jim Hunter, and John Hunter; his sister, Ana Gladys Abaunza; numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, one great-great grandchild, and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. He is predeceased by his parents, George M. Hunter and Josefa (Josefina) Ruiz Castillo; his siblings, Cyrus W. (Billy) Hunter, Fanny Huezo, Mary Badmirosky, George M. Hunter, and Gloria Bolanos; and his son, Dawn Richard Hunter.

Born in San Marcos, Nicaragua, he emigrated to the United States with his family at the age of seven. He served in the U.S. Air Force as a young married man with small children. He graduated from the Tulane University School of Architecture in New Orleans. As an architect, he found inspiration in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright whose work he admired all his life. This inspiration even extended to the furniture he made for his growing family. He remained in the field of architecture for nearly twenty years before devoting himself exclusively to his true passions of painting and, later, sculpture.

Over time, through experimentation and mostly self-taught techniques, he developed an individual style of painting. As his artwork evolved, he incorporated imagery from a variety of sources: from Jackson Square in New Orleans to cathedrals in Europe, from celestial objects and mythical creatures to Native American themes. He was attracted to an eclectic mix of beliefs and practices which influenced much of his life, his thinking, and his art. The influence of eastern religious teachings, meditation, Buddhism, and New Age thought seemed to distill into his artwork. Much of his work can aptly be described as mystical or spiritual. Richard’s artwork included personal commissions as well as commissions for Mardi Gras posters, New Age music cassette and CD covers, murals and various festival posters, including one for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition in New Orleans. He described his own creative process as bringing to form the images from deep within his unconscious, sometimes starting from only a vague germinal impression or feeling. He once summed it up by saying, “No reason explains my painting.” He also stated that he wanted to “flood the world with images,” as a kind of self-appointed mission.

Twice married and divorced, Richard lived much of his adult life in New Orleans, a mecca for artists, before he semi-retired to the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Growing restless, he moved to Bisbee, Arizona, spending ten years there in the local artist colony. After a subsequent move to the San Diego area, Richard was diagnosed with several medical conditions including the early stages of dementia. He then transferred to Northern California into the care of St. John Kronstadt Care Center in Castro Valley where he stayed for the remainder of his life.

A memorial service is being planned for later this year. Donations in his memory can be made to the Gaden Phodrang Foundation of the Dalai Lama online at www.dalailamafoundation.org.