Richard (Ricky) Baird

Ricky was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.

Ever since he was a young school boy, Ricky loved to draw. Whenever he had some free time you could find him colouring, sketching and shading. From recreating his favourite things and items around the house to fun ideas that he would come up with himself. Ricky would spend hours practising and trying new things with his pencils and paints. The more he drew, the better he became. He never wanted to give up or stop learning new techniques. Even now as an adult, Ricky will still find new ways to challenge himself and try new things.

When he wasn’t busy drawing, he was learning to play the guitar. He would strum along and sing his favourite songs as loud as he could! Soon, his friends wanted to make a band together and asked Ricky to be the singer. Together they wrote their own songs and got to go to a recording studio to record them. They even made their own music videos, just like real rock stars. Lots of people started to listen to their music and very soon they were asked to open shows for some of their favourite bands in venues across the UK and Ireland.

As an adult one of Ricky’s favourite things to do is play ice hockey — it’s fast, exciting and full of energy! He plays on a local team called The Foxes and has to work together with his teammates (as a defence man) to stop the other team from scoring. Ricky can not wait to skate at the new Dundonald Ice Bowl when it opens. When he is not playing he loves cheering from the stands for his favourite team the Belfast Giants. He and Noel even have season tickets so they get to watch every home game.

Ricky always wanted a job where he could draw and create amazing art every day, but he also wanted to do something a little different and exciting so he decided to become a tattoo artist!
You might have seen tattoos on some of the grown-ups in your life. Ricky loves turning ideas into colourful, meaningful artwork that people can carry with them wherever they go. For him, it’s all about bringing art to life in a truly special way!

When Noel wrote his very first children’s picture book, The Adventures of Mr. Bumble, he knew exactly who to ask for help. He couldn’t think of anyone better than Ricky to help bring the story to life with wonderful illustrations. For Ricky, this was a brand new adventure and a different kind of art to create. He was super excited to take on the challenge and start drawing something special for young readers. He hopes kids can find a friend in the characters he has created.