Nevertheless his yearning to be an artist did not dissipate, it remained in his subconscious. And whenever the opportunity manifested itself, he would draw; be it on a cattle-water-tank in the bush with charcoal or on a bare piece of earth or sand with a stick. He would bend wire into recognisable shapes. Besotted with aircraft, he would model them (not flyable) from various sized pieces of balsa-wood. He still maintains today that 3D is his strong point. And often askes, what would he have achieved, were he allowed a year at art school at the age of seventeen. He frequently blames himself for not persisting with pleading to his father, whom Richard feels, probably would have allowed it.

Richard and Joan Budich, his college sweetheart, whom he met in art class in 1955, married in 1961. By this time Joan had studied at the Adelaide College of Art and the city’s Teachers College and had become a Secondary School art teacher. And so it transpired, that not only was he hooked on art, but he was married to it through an artist. Their first child Hildegarde, born in 1963, like her parents, was, and still is nuts about art. So much so that she studied and was awarded a Batchelor of Visual Arts at the Sydney University in 1992. She now teaches art at the prestigious Presperterian Ladies College in Perth WA.

For approximately the first twenty years of their marriage, art, as in drawing and water-colour, was practiced periodically. Usually when on holiday. But suddenly in 1978, Richard found himself booked into a Flying Art School class at Mundubbera Q, conducted by the well-known artist and tutor Mervyn Morriarty. This was the beginning of his long-haul back to where he always wanted to be: in a life filled with art. Richard maintains that the Queensland Flying Art School and Morriarty have done so much for so many isolated artists that they deserve much more credit than appears to have been extended.

No sooner were several Flying Art Schools undertaken, that Richard found himself booked into a two-week drawing class at the University of SE Queensland Summer School at Toowoomba Q. When he questioned his wife about what was going on, she replied with the query of what he would do in his retirement. His suggestion of never ever retiring was dismissed immediately and the outcome was that he and Joan attended twenty two consecutive two-week yearly courses at the USQ Summer School. This assembly of artists from all over Australia, was in those days was managed by the extremely capable Margaret Clifford.

Joan and Richard partook of several courses, but approximately half way through the twenty two year period Joan settled on fabric art and Richard on stained glass leadlight under the tutelage of the illustrious Norman Birrell, himself a Churchill Fellow in stained glass techniques acquired in the USA.

In 1990 the Apel Family’s cattle breeding and export interests took them to Mallina Station in the Pilbara region of WA where Richard embarked on a pursuit in public art. His first public commission ‘A Pilbara Landscape,’ was contracted by the then BHP Company in 1993. The elongated pyramid shaped fresco, 9.00m wide and 2.5m at its highest point, is of stained glass and copper foil construction. Features in the artwork, are rock sections at the bottom of the mural with a number of tree sectors that consist of 4.0mm thick segments of polished Pilbara Jade.

Hildegarde, who was then teaching art at Port Hedland TAFE assisted in drawing the fourteen template sections.

In 1994 Richard designed and constructed four contemporary stained glass windows in the Roebourne Church of England, which is Western Australia’s oldest Anglican Church outside of Perth. The artworks were dedicated by the renowned Bishop Howell Whitt.

Richard gave tuition in stained glass leadlight and copper foil techniques at many Pilbara locations.

In 1995, a 7.0m x 1.4m Port Hedland Centenary mural in stained and acid etched glass was designed designed and constructed by Hilde and Richard in 1995.

During 1996 saw Richard and Joan move south to a farming and cattle property near Moora in Western Australian Wheatbelt region. They lived in a large brick homestead circa 1905, which he filled with stained glass windows in short order. Teaching stained glass procedures continued in full swing, taking in the whole of WA. And Joan continued with her textile creations as well as classes in that medium.

Cattle breeding and art ran a neck and neck race. So much so that Richard was awarded the Wesfarmers West Australian Rural Achiever of the Year 1996 for his for his efforts in re-establishing Port Hedland as a livestock export port. He achieved this during his time as a Pilbara Development Commission Board Member where he shared his efforts with the celebrated Harry Butler.

Richard and Joan joined the newly formed Moora Fine Arts Society, where Joan later became the Chair Person. In this position, she, with the assistance of dedicated committee members ran many exhibitions and a number of highly successful Moora Winter Schools, which attracted tutors and participants from all over Western Australia.

In 1998, Living Waters Lutheran School Chapel committee at Warnbro WA commissioned Richard, who designed a 1.5m x 1.0m Baptismal window incorporating one hundred and forty four small candles representing children and their parents, who approached John the Baptist in the form of a large candle standing in the River Jordan. A gigantic burning candle signifying Jesus Christ takes precedence over the entire representation.

While in 1999, The Wesley Art Foundation commissioned Apel to design and manufacture a 2.5m x 1.6m for the entrance to the Wesley Hospital Toowong Brisbane Q. The entire work except for a small section at the bottom was constructed in the copper-foil method. All was inserted in one-panel-piece.

In 2001, ‘Scrapiron’, a life-size WW2 Digger formulated from found metal objects, which included a copper stock-trough float to form the head, the moustache was cut from a wire brush, there were universal joints for elbows and knees. The soldier’s rifle is a metal pipe with a plough-shear stock and a genuine bullet magazine. He stands very much at ease with one foot on a rock.

The year 2002 saw him build a very much contemporary cross, designed by his wife, which stands by St Joseph’s Catholic school in Moora WA.

During 2003 saw several art projects completed. The largest of which, and Apel’s largest work to date, was 32 sq.m of stained glass commissioned by the Tardun Catholic School in the vicinity of Geraldton WA, which was later transferred to the ……. Catholic School at Fremantle WA. The original designs were created by well-known WA artist Michael Vandeleur. This work was followed by five metal Moora Apex signs and a Dick Smith sponsored Federation Arch, which stands at the entrance of the Moora WA Primary School.

Steel rod line-drawing sculptures of Carnaby cockatoos and sheep walking, stand at two of the five entrance-roads to Moora town WA. They were designed and constructed in 2005 by Richard Apel. And as well, he managed the design by local school art students of an audio-sculpture of steel and stained glass, which stands near the Town Clock. This artwork in the shape of a contemporary ‘M’, which tells local stories by Terry Ackland, with the press of a button, was sponsored by Country Arts WA.

The existing Moora Town Clock Tower was enhanced by four internally lit stained glass and steel panels. This work by Richard Apel and Natalie Tonkin, a local Moora artist, is the major segment of a $100000 Moora main street facelift, commissioned by the local Shire Council in the year 2005.

In 2003 Richard was awarded WA Senior of the Year for his services to Art and Culture.

On 2006 saw the creation of Moora Landscape, a 2.0m x 2.0m painted and fired stained glass mural Moora WA Hospital. A project that involved the Moora art community. Participants, who included several Aboriginal artists were directed by Apel, who oversaw and partook in design and construction. The project was sponsored by WA Country Arts.

During 2007, we reflected three major projects:

1. Dingo Mother: This WA Percent for Art Commission is featured at the Police Station in Leonora in out-back WA. The stained glass and steel-rod artwork includes the station’s front and side wall, the front counter and the interview room; a contemporary design of a female dingo set into the surrounding hills, landscape and flora. Spinifex grass is featured on the front-desk-wall.
2. Citrus Tree: A stainless steel construction with stained glass fronted citrus fruit shapes stands in the main street of Gayndah Q. The glass component features the districts native flora and economy, as in beef cattle, citrus and small crops.
3. Moora Shire Boundary artworks: Five works of identical painted sheet-steel cut-out design of Salmon Gum trees welcome arrivals to and departures from the Wheatbelt town.

Richard Apel was awarded a Churchill Fellowship to study Traditional German Glass Painting at Schillings Glasmalerei Frankfurt am Main in 2008. The same year he attended Perth Central TAFE where he studied Cert IV sculpture, history of art and drawing.

In 2009 also features another Percent for Art undertaking, namely, Tall Timbers: a stained glass, copper, steel, ceramic and concrete combination depicting the home environments of boarders at the Albany WA Residential College. The work is made up of steel sculptures, their images taken of actual boarders at that time. Fired ceramic floor-tiles feature SWWA farm life. A Blue Heeler dog in concrete lies, paws outstretched beside one of the steel sculptures. Local tall timbers in copper and stained glass embellish two walls of the buildings entry-patio. All the external artworks enjoy a stained glass, office front door backdrop.

Family. In 2009, Moora Shire commissioned Richard to design and construct a town Centenary Sculpture. The artwork consists of father, mother and their daughter (wearing a hoo-la-hoop) in painted steel sheet and rod with small areas of painted and fired stained glass. A local Aboriginal artist Alice Yates was responsible for painting tribal motifs on the mother’s handbag and the daughter’s satchel.

During 2010, saw the design and construction by Richard of a Centenary Window in the Dalwallinu Uniting Church.

On 2011, Richard was awarded Moora Citizen of the Year for his services to Art and Culture.

Ravensthorpe WA Art Society and Shire Council commissioned Apel to design and construct a 3.0m high sculpture in copper and stained glass of the area’s emblem: Royal Hakia Flower. This was a community event with local steel work experts constructing the plant’s internal assembly and sponsored by Country Arts WA.

In 2013 Richard’s 110,000 word historical novel ‘Drovers' Dust’ was shortlisted by Fremantle University Press.

Hello Australia: This Apel Family Centenary Sculpture in steel, is situated at Mundubbera Q where the original German family immigrants settled on a one square mile dairy farming block in allocated by the Queensland Government in 1912. It depicts Johannes Apel, his wife Bertha and eight children framed by the outline of a steamship.

On 2015 saw a 3.0m a purpose rusted steel leaf sculpture with local Aboriginal artist’s cultural paintings displayed on the leaf-trunk, commissioned by the Moora Shire Council.

During 2016. Richard and his friend Dermot Clifford travel to Moora WA to design and construct three large stained glass windows in the local Uniting church.

Richard designed and constructed a 12.0m wide steel line-drawing of two contemporary-design Baobab trees with abstracted windmill and Boab leaf incorporated with the overall presentation, which stand on the wall of Danannie Haulage head office in Forrestfield Perth WA.

Richard and Joan, who have ‘retired’ to 27 School Road Victoria Point QLD 4165 continue with their artwork on a reduced scale. Both are currently into writing many and varied subjects.

Richard has two published books, namely: ‘Lucky Cat’ a children’s book concerning an abandoned cat. And ‘Never Say Never,’ the biography of lifelong friend Arthur Dingle, a cattleman and wood chopper of renown, who lives at Mt Perry Q. The latter story can be purchased for twenty bucks from Arthur through email: arthur@burnett.net.au