Born in New England of Puritan ancestry, Richard Rollins has loved drawing and painting since
he was a child. Early exposure to the museums of Boston, New York City and Philadelphia brought him into contact with some of the world's finest works of art. This experience embued him with a hunger to learn the techniques of the Old Masters, and Vermeer, along with others of the Dutch painters, became the ideal to which the young student would aspire.

Rollins received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Castleton State College in Vermont in 1987. After graduation he began to combine his knowledge of the techniques used by the European Masters and his love for photorealism to develop a style that was uniquely his own. Each piece produced requires numerous hours, for the artist first begins by drawing the complete image on his canvas, and then building up the colors layer by layer.

Along with his family, Rollins moved to El Paso in 1995. Expressing the wonder found in his new environment, Rollins notes, "The landscape here in the desert is so completely different from what I had previously known that each day I find new things which amaze me. The sky is more dominant, the mountains larger and the storms more powerful. To me, this is one of the most exotic and fascinating places I have experienced. Wherever I turn, I find another subject to paint."

Rollins continues to be inspired by the people, landscapes and history of the border region. Because of his intense interest in the historical aspect of the El Paso area, he now enjoys adding a turn-of-the-century perspective to his images often including trolleys and Victorian buildings.