We recently connected with Joe Richichi and have shared our conversation below.

Joe, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I took the risk after I had invested 2 years of college education in arts and media, to delve into math and science, using the other side of my brain to pursue 8 more years to become a doctor. I now use my art as my hobby after long days of work to destress and continue creating!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started my artwork in Glens Falls, NY, where I was recognized as early as elementary school for having an ability to draw. In high school, I took my first drawing class and more officially found my niche. My first self-portrait (which is now plaqued and hanging in GF High) put my artwork on the map in my school, and my other work began being noticed by my entire class. A drawing of New York City from atop the Empire State Building kickstarted my art career, being featured in 3 publications, hung in a museum, won countless awards, and the cover of the school calendar for that year, being distributed to thousands of homes.

After high school, I took my artistic ability to a portfolio review where I was offered scholarships by University of Hartford, Rochester Institute of Technology, and the College of Saint Rose. None of which did I take, I decided to stay in my hometown and get my associate in communication media arts at Suny Adirondacks. During my first few years of college, I displayed my work in the means of 5 personal art shows at local restaurants and art galleries.

Working five years and not finding a “career” route for my artwork, I found my calling to go a completely different route and become a veterinarian. I packed my things and moved to north central Florida in Gainesville, where I earned my second associate degree in biotechnology at Santa Fe College and my bachelor’s in animal science at the University Of Florida in 2016. Once in Florida, I continued to draw and try new things, which led to my first colored pencil pet portrait of my father’s dog, Kyra. Until now, I had done pet portraits in black and white while being somewhat afraid of adding color to my work. This drawing was a risk but had a huge payout. I posted it online and was asked almost immediately by dozens to draw pictures of their dog next.

With my love for animals, I began on the path of becoming a veterinarian and was accepted into the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine on the island of Saint Kitts & Nevis in the Caribbean. During my time at Ross University, I began turning my class notes into illustrations to help remember certain things. Those illustrations took a turn to full drawings of species differentiation, starting with Sea Turtles. The sea turtle drawings were purchased by an IMAX movie company for production of their educational posters for the movie “Sea Turtle Odyssey 3D,” playing in museums and aquariums around the world. They were also used to promote awareness and education on St. Kitts in aid of helping the endangered native turtles through the St. Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network. That species series led to Macaws and now Caiman crocodiles. I was officially published in a textbook for the first time in “The Handbook of Horses & Donkeys” through 5M Publishing with my former professor and author, Dr. Chris Mortensen in 2018. This book featured ancient extinct species that I created by looking at skeletal records and written descriptions, as well as anatomical drawings. A new path towards medical illustration on top of my veterinary path presents a new world of opportunities. I moved on to Purdue University for my clinical year and earned my Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine in January of 2020. My speciation and commissioned drawings have continued in high demand but were taking a while to complete while I finished this journey.

July of 2023, I was able to add “author” to my resume with my first educational children’s coloring book that I wrote and illustrated. This book is the first of many to come out, and I am using each book as a tool for kids to learn while they have fun coloring, making this far more than a regular coloring book!

I now reside in Asheville, NC with my incredibly talented girlfriend, Eileen Bos. Her artwork can be found at www.EnchantedArtwork.com. We have our work in several shops already and I have my first gallery space at the Marquee in the widely known River Arts District. I will continue to help animals at my hospital by day and illustrate them by night!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When it came to the treacherous applications to veterinary school, I seeked out advice from veterinary advisors. The first advisor told me “you’ll never get into vet school with grades like this”. I had a 3.1 GPA, which was not terrible, but in the eyes of vet schools, is not ideal. I had nearly 180 credit hours so even several more years if I acquired 4.0 GPA each time, would not result in a huge boost of overall GPA. The next advisor told me, “you should just be an artist, you really don’t want to go to vet school”. However, for my years as “just an artist”, I realized that once I HAD to draw to come up with rent, bills, food, etc, I did not want to anymore, and had completely lost the passion for doing so. I spoke with a 3rd advisor who told me “if you really want it, go for it. No one will hold your hand through the process, so you have to make it work.” So i did. Maybe “stubborn” is more of the word to describe me, than resilient, but I went and applied to 18 vet schools, costing nearly $4,000 out of pocket. I was denied by 17 of the 18 schools, but finally was accepted into both of the island school, Ross University. Here, I struggled in the first few months, but blazed my path to my doctorate and now create art as a booming side-hobby while saving animals during the day!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

At first, I just wanted to draw because I felt I had a talent. I loved animals and wanted to create fun wildlife drawings but did not really have a reason for what I was doing. Once in vet school, I was drawing people’s pets on a regular basis, but wanted to do something for myself, so I began illustrating the different species of sea turtles I was able to swim with in this Caribbean island. This species identification collection of 7 drawings hit big and became stickers, t shirts, mugs, clocks, and posters. It became a staple for other students to learn the differences of these turtle species, and I had a blast doing so. Now, I focus on species identification with my artwork, and feel that an educational approach is the most appropriate goal for my artwork with my veterinary brackground.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.DrawingsByJoe.com
• Instagram: www.Instagram.com/artworkbyjoe
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/JoeRichichiArt
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joerichichi/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@drawingsbyjoerichichi728