Ricardo Estella was born in 1951 in New York City and was raised in the Philippines. He is an accomplished artist and credits much of his inspiration to his father who taught him how to paint and sculpt as a child while living on the island of Luzon. He returned to the United States in 1973, and created art at Creativity Explored from 1996 to 2006. Estella began working at Creativity Explored again in 2010.
Estella is an accomplished artist best known for his dramatic and colorful ceramic work and acrylic paintings. He works with paint, collage, weaving, sculpture, textiles, ceramics and papier-mache. His subject matter is often spiritual in nature with an imaginative twist, such as cathedrals with crucifixes and mermaids. While his work often features religious imagery and/or iconic figures, he paints animals and landscapes as well.