Richard W. Arfsten, Jr.

Richard W. Arfsten Jr. of Burlington, Wisconsin had a tenacious spirit for everything he did in life and had a saying, “play it until the end of the string.” He reached the end of his string on August 19, 2026. Rich was born in Chicago on All Saints Day to Dick and Dolly Arfsten.

His mother refused to give birth to him on Halloween - she wasn’t taking any chances. He was raised in Chicago and moved to Wisconsin to attend college, where he attained a Master’s De6gree in Industrial Arts. He married Jeanne and together they raised four daughters.

Rich taught shop class to developmentally challenged students for a few years before opening his own painting contractor business. He was renowned in southeastern Wisconsin for more than 50 years for his barn painting skills. If you see a barn with a smiley face on it, most likely he painted it.

While he enjoyed painting barns, ART was the “fire in his belly.” He had an ambitious approach to life - and to art - to make something happen every day - but most of all have fun doing it. His natural curiosity was the driving force to continually experiment and manipulate processes to incorporate them into his art. Many of his artworks were inspired by his fascination with science fiction and his childhood hero, Flash Gordon, as well as his love for the human face.

Rich had a natural talent for art and was mostly self-taught, but he also studied with some prominent art teachers in the U.S. and Australia. He won awards in International Figurative Sculpture competitions and taught sculpture classes locally.

Sculpture was his preferred medium, running the gamut from figurative, to abstract, to architectural. He modeled in clay or wax, cast metal maquettes using his perfected technique of evaporative pattern casting, and created welded pieces from found objects. His most well-known works include a majestic, 10-foot tall steel horse created from used auto parts, and hundreds of unique cast metal abstract maquettes. He dreamed that one day one of those maquettes would be fabricated into a large sculpture and placed in front of a prominent building. Maybe it could still happen.

In his later years Rich drifted away from sculpture to 2D works. He found great joy in creating abstract monotypes and traveled to Europe to purchase and bring back a huge printing press to use to make them. However, portraiture really was his “thing” and he created hundreds of paintings and sketches of anyone who would sit still long enough.

For more than a decade, Rich and his life partner and fiancee, Sandy, teamed up at art fairs to sell his one-of-a-kind metal flowers made from reclaimed paint barrels. All those years of painting barns yielded a lot of barrels and he didn’t want to waste them.

Many of Rich’s artworks are in public displays across the Midwest as well as internationally in private collections. A great deal of his work can be seen on the Internet.

Rich expressed thanks to the many doctors at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin who treated him over the years (Dr. Roger Beaumont in particular); to the nurses (especially), doctors and staff in the MICU and 5th Floor at Froedtert Hospital for their heartfelt care in his final days; and to the team at Fresenius Kidney Care in Burlington for taking good care of him these past three years and lending an ear to his stories. Extra special thanks to Sandy, Cheryl, Doug and Tom “for being in his life.”

Rich leaves behind to cherish his memory his life partner and fiancee, Sandyll; four daughters, numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren; “adopted” family; many many friends; and fur babies (especially stray cats). He was preceded in death by his grandparents, father, mother, brother, sister-in-law, and ex-wife. Per Rich’s request, there will be no funeral service but he asked that you remember him and one of his stories. Memorials may be made to an art school or art museum of your choice.

Richard lived an adventurous life and loved to tell stories about it. He created his own gravesite sculpture memorial to depict his final adventure: the “After Life Express” and “Approaching Eternity.” His epitaph reads “Sculptor • Barn Painter • Storyteller • Dreamer • Not the Sharpest Tack • Friend of Stray Cats”

He was loved dearly, will be missed deeply, and remains in our hearts forever.

Background photo of Richard's Bloom Again Metal Art