R.P. was trained as a medical illustrator and as a solar astronomer, and is well practiced in the fields of gilding and marblizing papers and fabrics. As a fifth-generation wood engraver, printmaker, and master calligrapher, he goes way back having grown up in a Mexican family with a long history of work in the printing field. R. P. is a long-time member of the Wood Engravers’ Network. R. P. taught scientific illustration and photography at the University of Arizona; he has taught music and astronomy at St. Paul’s School, and he was Senior Educator in Astronomy and Spectroscopy at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord. From 1980 to 2012 he was an instructor in traditional crafts, music, dance and history at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, West Virginia, finishing there as Crafts Coordinator, and has run workshops in traditional Mexican/Aztec cooking.
R.P. is currently working on a doctorate in Archaeoastronomy/Mayan Cultures (Palenque-Tik’al). He lives in Concord, NH with his wife Alice. His wood engravings have found audiences world-wide, they are excellent.