Featured Artist
Richard Van De Water:Cowboys, Motels and the Open Road
A San Diego photographer who found his eye through a borrowed camera. His riders, roadside signs and open roads carry the American story in shadow and silhouette. Printed and framed by Helm + Oar.
The whole collection
Every Richard Van De Water print
16 photographs, shown in a mix of frames. Every piece comes in Black, White, Hickory, Heritage Walnut and Gold, and opens with its frame already selected.
California
4 photographs
The Surf Motel
Shop in Hickory
Motel Blues
Shop in Hickory
The Seventh Green
Shop in Black
Out In Style
Shop in BlackItaly
3 photographs
Wyoming
2 photographs
Western Soul
Shop in Hickory
Roped In
Shop in BlackColorado
1 photograph
Always Downhill
Shop in BlackTexas
1 photograph
Riding Dirty
Shop in BlackMore from Richard Van De Water
5 photographs
Into The Sun
Shop in Black
Ready To Ride
Shop in Black
I Always Win
Shop in Hickory
Off To Italy
Shop in Black
Water Colour
Shop in BlackShop the artist
Bring home a Richard Van De Water moment
Each piece opens with its frame already selected. Pick your size, and it arrives ready to hang.
Western Soul
Shop in Hickory
The Surf Motel
Shop in Gold
Out In Style
Shop in WhiteAlways Downhill
Shop in Black“My husband loved the piece”
kim s. · Verified buyer
“This framed photo is just super cool. It’s got a retro vibe, but the frame is classy and sleek. It’s the perfect addition to our living room.”
stephanie d. · Verified buyer
“Love my purchase. I was looking for a black n white photograph to match a cocktail table and it works perfectly. Glad I went with the larger size as it really makes an impact.”
Bruce M. · Verified buyer
The artist
Meet Richard Van De Water, photographer
Born and raised in the South, Richard Van De Water is a photographer who is now based in San Diego, California. After being repeatedly let go from the corporate world, he found himself in Hawaii during covid with a friend's camera. Having never studied photography, he realized something clicked. Within months, he landed a gig shooting a coffee table book across Israel with author Tara-Leigh Cobble.
Today his work spans travel and lifestyle. "Creating fine art," he says, "is my most rewarding work. It is when a buyer expresses how my art makes them feel, making them want it in their home, office, hotel ... that's what is purposeful and rewarding to me in it".
What he chases is hard to fake: the feeling behind the frame, and the essence of a real moment. In these photographs it lives in a rider's silhouette, a lasso against the sky and a motel sign standing alone.
The places
Open roads and roadside signs
Each photograph is tied to a real place, from Jackson Hole to a San Francisco roadside.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Western Soul sets a cowboy on horseback in silhouette beneath dramatic skies. Roped In catches another rider mid-swing, a lasso arcing through the air.
See Roped InDallas, Texas
Riding Dirty freezes a dirt biker as he launches into a cloud of dust. Raw power, held perfectly still.
See Riding DirtySan Diego, California
Out In Style parks a vintage sports car beneath an In-N-Out sign. It is a nod to California's golden age of car culture and roadside Americana.
See Out In Style
San Francisco, California
A vintage surf motel sign, shown in two moods: The Surf Motel in black and white, and Motel Blues in moody blues.
See The Surf MotelThe moment
Western Soul: the story behind the photograph
In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, a cowboy on horseback becomes a silhouette against a sky full of light. The brim of the hat, the line of the horse's neck, the clouds behind. Nothing else is needed.
Rendered in black and white, the American West loses its color and keeps its shape. What is left is strength, freedom and the long heritage of ranch life, all in one frame.
On a wall, it stops being only a cowboy. It becomes a grandfather's ranch, a trip west, a life with more sky in it. That is the moment you take home.
The Lake Como photographs
Lake Como wall art: an Italian summer, framed
Four photographs from Lake Como, Italy. The American pieces run dark and dusty. These slow down, to water, sun and summer, with the same eye for a real moment.
Drifting
Shop in WhiteI Always Win
Shop in HickoryOff To Italy
Shop in Black
A Brighter Day
Shop in WhiteAt home
Western and Americana wall art for the living room, and beyond
Moody, nostalgic and quietly confident, these photographs give a room a point of view.
In the living room
Hang one large piece above the sofa, sized to about two-thirds of its width. Black and white sits easily beside leather, wood and wool.
In a den or lodge
A silhouette like Western Soul brings calm to a study, a cabin or a mountain home, and reads from across the room.
On a gallery wall
Group three that share a mood. A rider, a roadside sign and a vintage car make a wall with one story.
Sizes
Sizes and prices for Richard Van De Water prints
Shown for The Seventh Green: 7 sizes, matted or full bleed. Every frame finish is the same price. The prices below are today's, straight from the store.
| Size | Framed | Framed price | Print only | Print price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small | 18 x 14 in | $264 | 16 x 12 in | $150 | A desk, a shelf, or a row of three |
| Medium | 26 x 20 in | $419 | 24 x 18 in | $300 | Above a console or a nightstand |
| Large | 38 x 26 in | $749 | 36 x 24 in | $600 | Above a sofa or a bed |
| Statement | 42 x 30 in | $899 | 40 x 28 in | $750 | A feature wall that should stop people |
| Gallery | 50 x 38 in | $1,449 | 48 x 36 in | $1,200 | The main wall of a living room |
| Collector | 62 x 42 in | $1,949 | 60 x 40 in | $1,500 | Lofts, stairwells and tall walls |
| Museum | 72 x 50 in | $2,899 | The biggest wall in the house |
Not sure which size fits your wall? How to size and hang art
Print only
Already own an Endless Frame? Choose the print only.
Richard Van De Water's photographs are also sold as a print only: a museum-quality giclée on archival paper, matted or full bleed.
It is sized to drop straight into your Endless Frame®, and it is ready for any standard frame. Change the art whenever the season, or the mood, asks for it.
From $150.
The Endless Frame®
One frame. Multiple works. Stored inside.
Home of the Endless Frame®: the luxury fine-art system that lets you swap and store your art in seconds, and refresh your walls without ever replacing the frame.
What collectors say about Richard Van De Water
“Absolutely gorgeous, sharp and pristine quality”
Cassie L. · Verified buyer
Very high end. Good photo printing and precise framing. Looks great.
Incredible quality and a beautiful piece of art. Very happy.
Excellent print, high quality. Frame is perfect. Easy to hang.
Made by Helm + Oar
Printed and framed, one at a time
Helm + Oar prints and frames Richard Van De Water's photographs to order. Each giclée print is made when you order it, so there is no warehouse of unsold art.
Each frame is crafted from solid White Oak, with Artist Grade Crystal Acrylic glass, and arrives ready to hang.
Good to know
Questions about Richard Van De Water
Who is Richard Van De Water?
Richard Van De Water is a photographer based in San Diego, California. He is self-taught and works in travel and lifestyle photography, alongside fine art prints. Helm + Oar prints and frames his work.
Where was Western Soul photographed?
In Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It shows a cowboy on horseback in silhouette beneath dramatic, light-filled skies, in black and white. Roped In was photographed there too.
Is Western Soul good cowboy wall art?
Yes. It brings the heritage of ranch life to rustic, lodge, modern farmhouse and contemporary rooms. It suits a living room, an office, an entryway or a mountain home.
Is there vintage motel sign wall art?
Yes. The Surf Motel photographs a vintage motel sign in San Francisco, in black and white. Motel Blues shows a surf motel sign in moody blues. Both bring retro Americana to a beach house or an eclectic room.
How are Richard Van De Water prints made?
Each one is a giclée print made to order by Helm + Oar. It is framed in solid White Oak with Artist Grade Crystal Acrylic glass and arrives ready to hang.
Which frame suits black and white western art?
Heritage Walnut warms the grays and gives a western print a lodge feel. Black sharpens the contrast. White keeps a bright room airy, and Hickory feels relaxed and natural.
Your turn
Choose your moment
A trip west, a long drive, a room that needs a little more sky. Find the photograph that carries it.
Meet all our Featured Artists →Featured artist: Plant Passenger →How to size and hang art →