Richard Combes was born in Manchester England. He majored in painting at the New York Academy of Art graduating with an MFA (cum-laude) in 1995. He received his BA and B ARCH (Hons) in Architecture from Liverpool University, England in 1986 and 1989.

Richard was elected a full member of the Royal Institute of oil painters (ROI) in 2004.

He currently lives in New York City and works in both the US and UK.