All That Glitters Is You — Two San Diego Paintings Featured in The New York Times

By RD Riccoboni

I never enter contests.

That's not false modesty — it's just the truth. After years of being told my work wasn't quite right for this gallery or that juried show, I stopped putting myself in situations where someone else got to decide whether my art belonged. In fact, that's exactly why I opened my own gallery many years ago. If the art world wasn't going to make room for me, I'd make my own room.

So when my friend Patric Stillman — gallery owner of The Studio Door here in San Diego — told me I should enter the American LGBTQ+ Museum's wine label contest, my first instinct was to say no. But Patric is the kind of person whose encouragement you take seriously. He looked at me and said something like: "If anyone is a perfect fit for representing this community in art, it's you."

I entered. And then I forgot about it, the way you do when you don't expect to win.

Well. Wasn't I surprised.

The Contest

The American LGBTQ+ Museum — dedicated to preserving, researching, and sharing LGBTQ+ history and culture — was launching a special Pride Blend wine in partnership with Laithwaites to support their mission and their new permanent home breaking ground in New York City. They needed a label. They opened it to artists. Over 100 submissions came in from across the country.

They chose All That Glitters Is You.

The Paintings

All That Glitters Is You was painted from the heart of the San Diego LGBTQ Pride Parade on 6th Avenue in Hillcrest. Thousands of people — marching, celebrating, existing joyfully and defiantly in public — rendered in my signature mixed media style: ink, acrylic, and oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches. Rainbow flags catch the light. Figures emerge and dissolve into the crowd. It's not a document of a moment — it's a feeling. The feeling of belonging to something larger than yourself.

Alongside it, my painting Marching In The Pride Parade was also featured. Two works. One community. One parade. Painted because that's what I saw — and that's what I always paint: the story underneath the surface.

The New York Times

By December, I knew I'd won the contest. What I didn't know was that the New York Times was coming.

On Sunday, December 1, 2024, my phone buzzed with a text from a friend. "Did you know you're in the New York Times?"

I had no idea. There it was — a few pages in, a full-page spread featuring two of my Pride Parade paintings, the wine label, and a photo of me holding the bottle. One of the most widely read newspapers in the world. A friend saw it before I did.

I still can't quite believe it.

The Pride Blend was poured at American LGBTQ+ Museum events throughout the year, with 18% of proceeds donated directly to the museum. My paintings traveled — in a way — to every table where that bottle was opened.

Own a Piece of LGBTQ History

While many of my original community paintings wind up in large private or museum collections these days, you can still own a piece of LGBTQ history — in limited editions, signed prints, or as an original. The original painting All That Glitters Is You is a one-of-a-kind, large-scale work at 36 x 36 inches, mixed media on canvas. Signed prints are also available for those who want to bring a piece of this story home.

My studio is open to the public. When you're in San Diego, come visit me at Spanish Village Art Center inside Balboa Park — one of America's finest urban cultural parks. I'd love to tell you more of the story in person.

"I'm a storyteller in paint. Every painting tells a story. Thank you for becoming part of mine."
— RD Riccoboni