Ralph Barksdale is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design, where He studied with Lorser Feitelson, Harry Carmean, Charles Mochen, Reynold Brown, and John LaGatta. He worked for many years in 'Detroit and Pittsburgh doing illustration for some of the top studios in those areas. He was also an instructor at Brigham Young University in the fine art department primarily teaching head painting and figure drawing. Ralph and his wife Kathleen now live in the desert southwest in Congress, Arizona.

To those students that have asked to see some of the life drawings that were done during those sessions at 'Provo Art and Frame', a few of them are posted on this site.