"Santo Patron Number 20" Collage

Retherford spent 22 years in Houston. It was there that he created a large body of work, a regional following and many successful exhibitions. His work from this period can be found in many private and public collections nationally. During his career, Retherford has logged over 150 trips into the natural habitats, indigenous cultures, destinations rich in folk art and the regional art makers of Mexico, South America, Central America and North America. These continued experiences enhance and inform his study, art, appreciation and documentation. Over the years, Retherford has amassed an extensive collection of folk and religious art from the Americas. Of these experiences, he stated, “On nature, the landscape and man’s relationship to it— “I’m most interested the surprising way different artisans live with and interpret natural environments. The manifestations of this relationship in the form of art and objects used for healing, teaching, sacred and celebratory uses are vast and a never-ending source of interest and inspiration for me.” In the early 2000’s Retherford closed his business and studio in Houston. Craving a connection to a natural environment, Retherford relocated to a small mountain town in southern Arizona. Here he continued an uninterrupted series of artworks influenced by the desert landscape, it’s animals and it’s culture. These influences have given him a great gift of closeness to nature that happens when one lives intimately with the earth. Retherford has said “I didn’t know that I was longing for a depth of feeling and affection for a land with little human imprint and nature in its fullest expression. There is a tradition of desert contemplation that feeds a need for a connection to the environment. I have searched it out and it is my inspiration.”