Featured Artist
Richard Van De Water:Cowboys, Motels and the Open Road
A Charleston 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.
Shop 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.
“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
I. The artist
Meet Richard Van De Water, photographer
Richard Van De Water is a photographer based in Charleston, South Carolina. He did not study photography. After about seven years in cinematography, he borrowed a friend's camera on a trip to Hawaii, and something clicked.
Within months he was shooting a book across Israel with author Tara-Leigh Cobble. Today his work spans travel, lifestyle and brand photography. The fine art prints, he says, are the work he loves most.
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.
Western Soul, photographed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
II. 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 In
Dallas, 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 MotelIII. The 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.
IV. 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.
V. At 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.
VI. The whole collection
Every Richard Van De Water print
16 photographs, shown in a mix of frames. Every piece comes in Black, White, Hickory and Heritage Walnut.
Into The Sun
Shop in Black
Ready To Ride
Shop in WhiteI Always Win
Shop in HickoryOff To Italy
Shop in Black
Water Colour
Shop in BlackThe 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 Charleston, South Carolina. He is self-taught and works in travel, lifestyle and brand 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 →