"If It Doesn't Exist, Create It" — How I Painted a Book Into Being
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I heard it said: If it doesn't exist. Create It! So, I wrote this book. A fairy tale. But I painted it first — because I'm a storyteller in paint. Every painting tells a story. Thank you for becoming part of mine.
I was thrilled to be featured in the San Diego Union-Tribune recently, in a beautiful spread titled "From canvas to page: An artist tells stories with his brush and his words" — all about me and my newest picture book, Knights of the Vermillion Rose.
From Paintings to Pages
People have always asked me the same question about my paintings: "What's this painting about?" And I realized — every piece I've ever created has a story to tell. That question is exactly what sparked the idea for Knights of the Vermillion Rose. A fairy tale that I wanted when I was a kid but never had.
As I told the Union-Tribune: "I started painting portraits of people and writing stories to go with it, and then that's where I got the idea for this about a year ago. I thought, wouldn't it be fun to do a sci-fi story based on some of the paintings that I've done?"
A Lifelong Love of Fairy Tales
I've always loved fairy-tale picture books — ever since I was a kid. But there was always something missing for me in those stories. Now as an adult and as a queer reader, I never had a book for my own community. A few years ago, while strolling through a thrift shop, I found a queer-centered fairy-tale book titled "Fairy Tales". I snagged it for a few cents and proudly displayed the hilarious treasure on my coffee table. Well, it got swiped at a party. I suppose someone needed it more than I did. To no avail I searched for years for another one — never to be found. That small discovery planted the seed. I never had a fairytale for me as a young queer person. So I decided I would write one and illustrate it.
This would become Knights of the Vermillion Rose. Why not write my own Queer Fairy Tale! So I did it — wrote and illustrated it. Now I am working on making it a novel. It's almost done!
Building LGBTQ+ Visibility Through Art
My work — rooted in my studio at the Village Art Center in Balboa Park — has always been about visibility and inclusive storytelling. I combine vivid color, figurative portraiture, and characters that reflect the rainbow of the LGBTQ+ community. It's my way of saying: you belong here, and your love story is worth telling.
As my colleague Gina Caruso put it, my "blend of creativity and business acumen is rare in the arts." I'll take it!
About the Book
Knights of the Vermillion Rose: A Science Fiction Fairy Tale of the Gay Romantic Comedy Kind is an adult picture book and graphic novella that I wrote and illustrated. Featuring 70 original illustrations, it blends science fiction, romantic comedy, and space-fantasy adventure into a heartfelt and unapologetic celebration of queer love.
When Gerry and his devoted dog Prosecco wander into a summer night glowing with mystery, they discover a secret written in the stars for over 129,000 years. The Intergalactic Knights of the Vermillion Rose — legendary same-sex warrior couples from the Lemirian galaxy — have arrived on Earth. Their mission: rescue the Lost Knight, reclaim the fabled Stone Tablet of Finality, and stop the shadowy Contrastadors before our world falls into darkness.
A perfect read for fans of Good Omens, The Princess Bride, and Galaxy Quest.
Get Your Copy
The signed Limited Edition Hardcover of Knights of the Vermillion Rose is available exclusively here or at my Arts Studio in historic Balboa Park, San Diego. Each hardcover comes with a bonus signed and matted print of the Knights — a true collector's package. Limited to an edition of 100.
→ Shop Knights of the Vermillion Rose
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"If it doesn't exist, and you can create it — then do it!"
— RD Riccoboni
RD Riccoboni is an internationally collected, award-winning California artist. His paintings celebrate imagination, community, and the beauty of place. RD's work is represented in museum and institutional collections across the United States. Every Riccoboni artwork is created to celebrate imagination, joy, and human connection. Original paintings and signed editions are carefully prepared and shipped from the artist's Arts Studio in historic Balboa Park, San Diego, California.