Richard Winkler was born in 1969 on 26 June in Norrköping, Sweden. As a boy he was inspired by his grandfather, a painter, who later gave him his first lessons.

After high school, where he studied science, he moved to Stockholm. He attended the Nyckelviken School of Arts where he studied visual arts and continued to the Beckmans School of Design where he studied fine art and graphic design. His obsession with the human body made him frequently join the life model drawing classes instead of going to the commercial art classes.

From 1992 to 1997 he freelanced as an illustrator for magazines, advertising and television. He was known for his originality and given great freedom to work as he wished.

Richard Winkler In spite of his successful life as an illustrator he was still searching for something else. During this time he was also painting on his own and held several solo ex- hibitions. He was dreaming of becoming a full time painter and made several inspiration trips to Sri Lanka and Paris during these years.

In 1997 he made up his mind and decided to become a full time painter. He moved to Bali where he married Regine, his Indonesian pen pal since secondary school. They lived in the mountain village of Ubud for nine years. After having two children they moved to Sanur, close by the beach, where they currently live.