Ralph Papa grew up in York City's East Harlem and from an early age had a talent and passion for drawing and painting. Primarily self taught, he later studied art and architecture at Queens College and CCNY and painted at the Art Students League.

His works range from studio paintings using real and imagined themes, to figurative, portraits and plein air painting. Many of his studio works are larger than life faces creating pensive moods with feelings of isolation and loneliness.

In the mid 1980's, Papa began painting on-location in New York's Hudson Valley and Long Island Hamptons and later in southeastern Florida. The subjects of his paintings are often from nature, life experiences and personal reflections of family and friends. Recent works include plein air landscapes and studio paintings of imaginative compositions that visually link with artists he admires.

Papa paints in New York and Southeast Florida and teaches drawing and painting at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts and at his studio in Delray Beach. He is an organizer and co-founder of PleinAirPalmBeach.com and a Signature Member of the Artists Guild of the Boca Raton Museum of Art., and member of the Delray Art League and Garrison Art Center. His artworks are in public and private collections in the US and Canada. and can be viewed at the Neighborhood Gallery and Artists Guild Gallery in Palm Beach County and at www.papagallery.com