Rich was born and raised in Los Angeles and studied with his father, Don Klopfer, a professional painter and sculptor. He paints in oils, acrylics, and gouache; print lino and wood cuts, and does sculpture and bas-relief in wood.

The Fauves and the German Expressionists influenced Rich early in his painting career. These movements were marked by the use of strong, arbitrary color; dramatic redesigning of forms; vigorous, often rough painting surface and high energy and intense emotion.

His subject matter includes figurative work, landscapes and interiors. Another dominant theme is field workers and other laborers. Over the years Rich has sketched with his father along the central California coast. Some of these drawings have later been the start for paintings in his studio in Eugene.

Rich met Trim Bissell in 1981 and they worked together regularly, supporting each other's artistic efforts. They collaborated on a series of paired paintings, each doing a canvas based on the same subject. For the past three years (1999 - 2002) they sculpted jointly.

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