From 1995 to 1997 he studied as a master scholar with Professor Alfons Engling, after his return from São Paulo, Brazil to Cologne, Germany.

The multi-layer work of Helmut Tollmann integrating techniques from print and photography to painting had a strong influence on Ralph Tepels artwork until today.

An article on Ralph Tepel and his work was published in Künstlerische Fotografie heute, Band 1 (Fine art photography today, Volume 1).

[2] Since Ralph Tepel had created a series of paintings of the men and women of the Parliamentary Council under the exhibition title "faces of constitutional law", Christian Kiefer invited him to take part in the music and art Presidential Project "Of great and mortal men" of J. Matthew Gerken, Christian Kiefer and Jefferson Pitcher[3] with the portrait of Richard Nixon.

The death of his father and his own severe accident were profound experience that changed his vision of the world and his artwork eradicative.