New Work!

New work!

Happy Holidays

Hi Guys, Sorry it's been so long. I tried to blog a few months back but apparantly my blog was having some malfunctions but it seems to be working now. Anyway alot has happened since I last blogged, I officially went back to evening shift at shodair and took head painting and printmaking for fall 2009 at the AAU. Overall it was a pretty good semester but continues to be difficult for me balancing out school and work but I try. I've come a long way as far as painting heads go, I'm still learning but I'm getting much better, I think I finally have a firm grasp on drawing but seeing color and value continues to be a work in progress. Printmaking was pretty fun too although challenging at times, I learned the basics of linocut, silkscreen and lithography. It was a pretty busy semester and I'm glad I survived it. On Novemeber 13th, 2009 I finally returned to the artwalk which resulted in my first solo show at the great northern town center. It was alot of fun, I displayed about 25 of my best pieces over the last few years. There was lights, music, refreshments and even a lava lamp! I was pretty surprised how many people came out to see me, some people I haven't seen in many years. Matt Welsh an old friend of mine helped me set up and it was great seeing him, I haven't seen him in over ten years. I ended the night by going to the bar with a few few friends, something I hardly ever do. Although I didn't sell a single piece, I was grateful enough that so many people took the time to come down and see me. Christmas was also wonderful, we finally had a white christmas with lots of snow, I got lots of great gifts and got to see everyone I love. I'm now on winter break and living life at a slower pace for the time being. As far as the future goes, I plan on cutting down my workload at shodair, gearing up for the spring semester and there's the possibility of going back to italy again in summer 2010. The only disappointing news I have to share is that my grandma who I live with must start chemo therapy again tomorrow, her tumor mark is getting high again so I'll be taking care of her again and as always hoping for the best. So I'll leave you with that, I'm hoping for another fruitful year with new artwork and other exciting adventures, Happy Holidays to you all and I hope you also have a great new year.

The Boy of Summer

At last! Here's a new painting-The Boy of Summer-Oil-2009

Vacation all I ever wanted!

Ahh what a great week it's been! I figured it was time to blog. So after my Pat Benatar extravaganza in phoenix I went back to work, hung out with friends and family a bit and have attempted to enjoy the last moments of summer, I feel an end of an era coming up and the start of another. I discovered out of the blue last week they've found a replacement for me on nights which means I'll be going back to evening shift soon. Everyone on night shift now knows after the new girl told some of my co workers in cpi class that she would be replacing some guy named Robert on night shift, so yeah they all knew before me so it was nice not having to make the announcement in a funny way. The truth is I've enjoyed the solitude of being on night shift even though yes at times I wanted to murder all my co-workers but it's time to switch gears, I want to try and get my work ethic back and be alive when everyone else is and not sleep all day and feel like total shit all the time. Anyway enough of that shit, I'm on vacation and it's been so nice, I havent gone anywhere, it's been a nice retreat instead and I've made the most of it. I started working out again, I'm getting ready for the fall semester, my supplies have all been ordered and lastly some solid art news, I've finally finished my Michael Jackson painting! I must admit, this summer I didn't get much painting done as planned, unfortuantely I had other fun things going and sometimes when life happens, you don't work at such a fast pace. I've had a nice break from school though and hopefully with this painting I'll resurface, I'm thinking of this painting as a fresh start and hopefully if I can maintain myself more great pieces will follow, I've already began my next painting tonight, an ambitious large great white shark on the biggest canvas I've ever painted on, so I'm hoping! Yesterday was just wonderfull, I had dinner with my entire family and then went for coffee at jbs with my old friend, artist, Vanessa Johns. I've known Vanessa for quite a while now, I met her when I used to work at the IR, from 2001-2003. I havent seen her in six years! It was so nice seeing her, she looks great and I'm so proud of her, we revisited the past and caught up and it just seemed like old times but better! We're both adults now and we were kids when we met. I gave her some art as a gift and I'm hoping I get see her again soon, it was great! Other than this I've been spending quality time with the grandparents and also got to see my dad, mom, brother, nephew and aunt all on my vacation so that's nice. Well as of this writing I can say I don't want to go back to work at all thursday, it's been such a nice vacation and I surely needed it and I plan on taking them more often than just once a year! I'm excited for school to start, I'm thinking of the day I can quit shodair and I'm going to continue pursuing my art. Okay I'll leave you that for now..

Holy Cow

Hello my blog readers, holy cow this has been the longest I've gone without blogging for awhile so I guess I better fill you in. Well it's been a very interesting summer overall, June, I think started everyone in the universe on a couple sour notes but by the end of july things got pretty exciting for me. On July 27th I flew down to phoenix to see and meet Pat Benatar which I must say was above and beyond anything I dreamed of really. I stayed at the budget lodge on west van buren street just a hop, skip and a jump away from the dodge theatre, where the concert was. The first night, it took me a while to get used to the heat which was unbelievable and I sensed as soon as I got settled that it may be a shady part of town so I tried to stay clear of any funny business. Finding something to eat in phoenix was a nightmare because I didn't want to walk to far away from the motel, I hadn't got any sleep on the plane or at home, most likely because I was too excited to sleep. Anyway I settled for a pizza and got a little sleep. The next day I woke up and decided I was determined to find the restaurants and a starbucks, if I would've walked just a little bit more I would've found a plaza next to the sheraton which I found the next day and took in a good latte, then I walked around for a few hours, I was too nervous and excited to eat so I didn't at all that day. Once I got used to the heat it was actually not that bad and kindove nice. I returned to my motel and stayed there until the show, I actually found my motel room the most comforting from the heat and the A.C was top notch, it was an average motel, I've had better and worse but it was clean and thats all that mattered. I showered, shaved and put on my vintage Pat Benatar 1982 tour shirt and I was ready to go, I took a few deep breaths, said a prayer and went to the theatre to pick up my ticket, or so I thought it was a ticket, inside an envelope was a backstage pass and I had to sign for it, I also bought a ticket just in case I couldnt get into the theatre. I returned to my motel room and got the pat benatar watercolor I wanted to give her so bad and I was worried that they wouldnt let me take it in but I called in advance just to see what was allowed and what wasn't. I bubblewrapped the damn thing to get it in my suitcase and I didnt want to come home with it! So I returned to the dodge theatre and eventually lined up when the doors opened, a huge security guy came out and asked me if the painting was a gift for the artist and he said if it wasnt I couldn't bring it in and I said it was, so I was in luck! He took it from me and took it to public relations where I could have someone pick it up, once I got into the theatre I went straight to the merchandise booth and told some big guy who I was and he didnt know anything about me having a pass and he told me I'd have to wait for Rande-the merchandise manager, so I waited and waited and I started to ask myself if this was actually going to happen or not but I just kept breathing and telling myself to be patient. The theatre started to get packed and I got lots of great compliments on my shirt which was great and suddenly the guy at the merchandise booth signaled me to come over there and he called rande up and within five minutes he was there and I introduced myself, he was such a nice guy, he made a phone call to john, pat manager and then he proceeded to escort me backstage, I told him I had a gift for pat and he went public relations and got my painting. We chatted along the way about music etc. He was just a super nice guy and then we entered the theatre and there I was going backstage, wow it was such a trip! Jon came out from the darkness and introduced himself to me and he told me to go with him. I found myself backstage going through a long hallway that had thousands of signatures and graffiti on it, I saw joan jett and alice cooper's scrawled signatures on the wall and john led me and this other guy in to a waiting area and told us pat was getting dressed and he'd be with us in a few minutes, I saw neil giraldo and clem burke walk by and at that moment I realized I was in an area where few people get to see, I felt so high! The guy that was with me was actually there for a blondie meet and greet and we chatted for awhile, he also told me he was once involved in blondie's fan club which I thought was interesting. Suddenly John told me to come with him and I went into this lounge area where the dressing rooms were and holy cow! There was Debbie Harry and Pat chatting away, Neil and Myron, then John introduced me to Neil and Myron as the VIP guy, both were so nice and pretty easy to talk to, I talked to Neil for quite awhile, he was such a nice guy and signed a bunch of autographs for me, Pat was busy talking to debbie and I didnt want to interrupt them and then Pat came up to me, shook my hand and said hi and I told her briefly who I was, she was such a nice lady, very small and very friendly. I tried to talk to debbie too but she seemed a bit preoccupied, I was a bit disappointed she didn't remember me but then I realized she must meet people like me everyday, holy cow did she look good though! She said something to me but I can't remember what it was. John then took the photo of Pat, Neil and I. So then I turned my attention to Pat and she kindly signed some autographs for me and asked me if I was a student after seeing my painting and I told her I was and how big of a fan I was, I gave her the watercolor and a pic of me with all of her cds and she seemed so gratefull and thanked me a couple of times. She even autographed a cd for my aunt, I thanked her and Neil for having me, I was so glad I remembered my thank yous because the last few stars I met I was so starstruck I forgot to say thank you which I always regretted. I said bye to Pat and Neil and went with john back to the waiting area, while I waited I talked to myron, pats drummer and he was just the nicest guy, he told me a bit about himself and I told him what a fan I was and he seemed very flattered, I asked him if he'd mind signing a cd and he graciously said yes and took a cd and went into the back because I didn't have a marker, I stood there and talked to this nice couple who complemented me on my painting,I'm not sure if they were there to meet pat or blondie but they were also very cool, then myron came out and gave me my signed cd which he also got neil and mick to sign along with a blondie cd signed by debbie that neil got for me, I thanked him and even gave him a photo of me with the pat collection and was escorted to my seat, John put me in a chair right next to the lighting director on the side of the friggin stage! It was an experience I'd never forget, watching pat and neil on the same stage was a sensation I think I was so consummed with that more than the show itself, although it was great as always. Pat performed Somebodys baby and I was moved to tears, I think just tears of happiness though. After Pat did a dozen songs, Blondie came on and I decided to risk it and stay on the stage and not one person bothered me, Blondie was great too and had a much better lighting director than pat but pat's all about the pipes! I took several photos, none of which turned out that great but it didn't bother me that much. After the show I was trying to find my way out of the backstage area and I couldnt but I did run into the fan club guy from blondie and he gave me his email address and told me if I ever wanted to do a meet and greet with them to email him, I just might do that. I ran into rande and decided to hang out with him for a bit after the show in the lobby and that was great, he even gave me his card because he wants to use my benatar shirt for a new retro t shirt! Security let me stay because I was with Rande and we continued to talk about music and other stuff. The security guy even asked me if I managed to get that painting to pat and I told him I did because he was the guy who took it at the beginning. I bought a bit more merchandise and said goodbye to rande and told him I'd get ahold of him after the tour, I sure hope he remembers me because I have a major job proposal. I went to the backstage area with all the other fans and I knew pat and neil were gone and on their way to albequerke so their best bet was getting sigs and pics from blondie, I got clems signature on the first blondie record, debbie and chris waived to the fans and got in their bus, whether they came out to sign or not I'll never know, I decided I had enough and went back tot he motel and I just was still so intoxicated with what a great night it was, Im very gratefull. The next morning I woke up, checked out and called a taxi to the airport, he was such a nice guy, wanted to know everything about me and I even scrawled my contact info on a cab card for a possible commissioned portrait. I talked to some guy in the smoking area and got checked in, although I had two delayed flights from denver to helena I made it home exhausted by 1:30 am and slept for ten straight hours. To be continued...

Aretha-The Glass Breaker-2009-Oil

Okay, at last a new painting! This was pretty fun, more of an experiment than anything else. I was inspired to do this after seeing Aretha perform at Obama's inaguration. Lots of oil! It took three months to dry!

Hi Folks!

Hi Folks! It's been awhile since I blogged so I thought I'd better check in. So the last time I blogged was certainly a pretty rough and unbelievable period for us all, it seemed like people were just leaving us left and right, celebrities, Traci and it was and continues to be for many, just an overall dark time. I'm not sure I could say things are 100% better now but I'm seeing things a bit more clearly now. First off I've decided it's time to leave night shift and I'll be going back to evenings soon. I'm just ready for a change and it seems every shift I work anymore I leave feeling angry, I'm constantly being insulted by my co workers and being lectured on how to do my job by people who never even work with kids and haven't put up with half of the shit I've put up with there. It's time to move on! Yes I know there's crap I have to deal with everyday and everywhere but I'd rather deal with a different kind of shit than what I'm dealing with now. I'm not asking for pity or sympathy, I just want out and it's time to seriously go back to work and make a difference and not sit around and analyze life and bullshit my way though work. Anyway, on a positive note, my family is doing fine, I'm painting a great portrait of Michael Jackson and it's almost done and I'm so excited yet very nervous to go and meet Pat Benatar in Phoenix, she is my favorite female vocalist that ever lived and it should be a wonderful time. I had the weekend off and I hate to say this but I was consumed by anger all weekend at just about everything and so I decided to do Yoga for the first time in several months and I feel pretty peacefull as of this writing. I feel most of the tension has been drained from my body at this point. I also had a wonderful visit with my father and he always knows how to cheer me up and help me see things from a different perspective. Okay, it's time to go take on the day, I promise my mood will be much brighter the next time I write. Love to You all! Robert

I don't know what to say

Hi Guys, I really don't know what to say other than this week has been a rough one on just about everybody as far I can see. It began thursday when my mother had corrective surgery on her arm to fix the metal plate in her arm after she broke it last year. I waited in the hospital for about four hours, actually it wasn't so bad even though I had to stay up all day after I got off work. I got in some good quality time with my grandparents during the wait and the surgery was a success. The next day I was sad to hear that Farrah Fawcett passed away after a four year battle with cancer, it was strange because I actually thought about her two days prior and wondered how she was doing. I was never a huge fan or anything but I sympathized with her greatly in her battle with cancer, when cancer hits your family, you can relate to anyones struggle with it, famous or not. After I mowed my moms lawn on thursday not two hours after I heard about Farrah, Michael Jackson passed. It was a crazy day! Although I pretty much wrote michael off in the early 90s after one media drama fest after another, I couldnt help but be sad and of course now that he's dead, everybody is finally paying tribute and focusing on his career accomplishments which were very overshadowed for the last 15 years or so. Although I wrote him off years ago, I always did know what a musical genius he was. Anyway so I was planning on having a restfell weekend and then I got a flat tire and had to get that fixed as soon as I got off and then did some more medical errand stuff for my grandparents. I thought it was all over, I couldnt have been more wrong. I got a tearfull phone call from Amber and I learned yesterday that an old friend of mine from high school Traci Spangler, who I hung out with alot when I was younger was murdered in oakland saturday morning, from what I gather, she and a friend were outside somewhere and were shot at random. Traci's friend survived and Traci died. To be be honest I have alot of mixed feelings right now, I pretty much rode traci off and I hadn't spoke to her since 2006 after some rather bitter feelings. She attempted to get ahold of me several times but I never responded. I never thought in a million years that this would happen and as of now, I feel very much for her sisters, friends and other family. I'm still having feelings that I never thought I'd have. So I'll leave you with this for now, I'm sorry for everyone who's had a shitty week, maybe next week will be a bit better. I have to keep reminding myself, I'm very lucky compared to many right now and I think what I've learned out of all this is to love the people you love more and cherish the time I have with them on this earth and maybe tolerate people a bit more. See you next time.

Hmm!

Hi Guys, well it rained all weekend so art in the garden was cancelled but hopefully I'll be able to participate next month. I've had some issues I've had to accept these last few days, first off i've been sleeping way too much and not getting anything accomplished so I have to put a stop to that and not be on the friggin computer so much and get my ass to bed, working night shift isn't helping that much either these days, when I decided to go to nights a year ago it was mainly to get a break from shodair and get some homework done, I have to say it's been a nice break overall but I'm wondering if it's worth my overall health, I do miss being alive during the day when everyone else is. As far as my art goes, it's something you have to constantly work at and pay your dues the entire way. Unfortunately one of my newest paintings I've been working on was an official flop and I ended up tossing it tonight. I came to the realization that it wasn't working out and ended up tossing it. To tell you the truth though, I'm not that devastated despite all the work I put into it. Maybe this flop will be a great lesson in the future. I think I've finally realized what my instructors have been lecturing me about since 2004, if your subject is weak no matter how pasionate you feel about it personally, it's usually grounds for murder in the finished piece as Kevin Moore my heads and hands instructor once said to me last year. So from now on, I'm going to be much more carefull with the subjects I choose to paint as well as the medium I choose for it, perhaps this will help me, it seems everything I've done in the last year has turned out to be a disappointment, except my B-52's painting which I still have a long way to go on. So next time hopefully i'll do better. My grandmother is cancer free which I'm still so greatfull about but now it seems it's my mom whos having all the medical problems these days, she'll have surgery tomorrow to fix her broken arm. I dont mean to sound so negative but Jesus Christ, it's always one medical thing after another in my family and I'm very frustrated about it GRRRRR. Okay I'm done venting, my next post will be much better. See you next time!

Art in the Garden!!!!!

Hi there, well first of all the garage sale was a success and I managed to go scrounge around the neighborhood only to find and buy more junk but oh well. It was nice being awake at those hours in the hot early sun on my day off because usually I'm asleep. Okay on to the good news, I finally have my first helena art gig in over two years, it's called Art in the Garden and it will be hosted by Linda Parker in East Helena on Saturday June 20th, I'll be premiering a few new pieces as well as some of the classics. I'm also excited to meet a few other new artists including Linda as well as see an old friend of mine that I haven't seen in over ten years, Josh Hedges and I'm very excited about that. My goal aside from having my pieces ready to display is to get a good nights sleep before hand so I don't look and feel like night shift hell when I go to start the show, I also have to work that night so it will be a long night but what the hay, my objective is to have fun!!! Okay I'll give you a report when it's all said and done. Wish me luck!

Anniversaries!

Hi there! So it was a year ago today that I hopped on a plane and went to italy for the whole summer, one of, if not the best time of my life, I learned how to oil paint and best of all made at least 20 new friends, becoming friends with my instructors was a great privelidge. I want to thank the following people for making the trip worthwhile, Jason, Carolyn, Craig, Anna, Shawn, Sean, Jeff, Amy, Sam, Allison, Sola, Babs, April, Theo, The Bowen Kids, Thomas, Jen, Brandon, Shelley, Judy, Eileen, Gabrielle and Deana. Sorry if I forgot any of you. Today is also my sixth year at shodair, It feels like I've been there much longer considering how many people I've met there. Ahh life is good, just painted all night and now I'm going help my grandparents with a garage sale and enjoy my weekend! Okay thats it for now!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

So I really don't have much to report on except it's been a pretty lazy weekend although it's my weekend to work. I've taken just a small break from painting and drawing but will hopefully resume my duties tomorrow. I have a gig coming up at an event called art in the garden, here in Helena on June 20th, where I will share some of my pieces and meet a friend I've been wanting to meet for some time finally in person, Linda Parker, the mother of two of my good friends in High School Jamie and Josh Hedges. The pieces I will be showing are a mixure of old and new but I'm thinking by the end of summer I will be ready to show all my newest pieces and put my oldies in the vaults as far as shows go. I'm currently still balancing three pieces with one charcoal drawing of Marianne Faithfull more or less complete. I thought it may be complete last week but when I presented it to a few people, I didn't get the response I was hoping for, so i decided to shelf it for a week. So I will see see what happens this week. Today was a pretty lazy day, I got home from work and finally finished a movie I tried watching three times and after falling asleep three times trying to watch it, I watched the whole thing today, it was actually a play filmed for t.v called Hedda Gabler with Diana Rigg, I just love that woman to pieces, it was great after all. Afterwards I slept all day and just couldn't get up for my grandma's birthday, I did get her a card though and apologized for missing it all. Happy 69'th Birthday Grandma. See ya all later.

Memory Lane

So last night was much more productive than saturday, saturday I was completely worthless and fell asleep and didn't get much of anything done. Last night however was a different story, I got into the studio around elevenish and worked on my B-52's painting, it's getting there! I have the second layer of paint on and I'm almost ready to go in and make the refinements and take it to the next level. I have a good feeling about this one! So after a long night of painting I decided to look for a photo reference from an earlier painting and I ended up going through all my artwork I've ever done since I started at the academy in 2004. Wow! it was like taking a trip down memory lane and I didn't fully realize exactly how far I've come since then, I'm talking about my earliest works from analysis of form, god some of the pieces were just awful! but I decided to keep many of them and I ended up throwing out quiet a bit, I did keep many unfinished drawings that still have potential to be good drawings, so hopefully they will see the light of day. Overall it was an interesting night. Okay thats all for now.

The creative juice is flowing

So I seemed to have regained my creative juice and discipline and I feel so good about it and the future is sure looking bright. I've been painting and drawing like a maniac for the last few weeks, I'm actually juggling three pieces at the moment and enjoying it. I once preffered the one piece at a time but so far it's going just fine, I paint my b-52's piece in my studio and the other two I just take to work and work there. There's no doubt I'm getting better with age, my knowledge and skill is ever growing and my confidence is also getting to the point of authority, at least for now. I have to admit I've let stress, lazy procrastination and anxiety get in the way of alot of what of could've been great work but I'm trying my best to refrain from that and just have fun. Other than being a great artist again, I've been working and just taking life a bit slower, trying to live in the moment and not three years down the line or behind! The weather in Helena sure has warmed my soul and my grandmother is doing fine. My friends are all popping out of the woods and I have much to be thankfull for. I'm off this weekend but I will be painting and really would like to clean my bathroom! Talk to you soon.

Disappointing News

Well, your getting the news first. I have some rather disappointing news, due to overwhelming financial issues over the study abroad, I've decided to not go italy this summer. Yes, I'm very disappointed. There were a few obstacles that I certainly didn't see coming a few months ago including applying for a personal loan which I was turned down over five times and it was hard to understand because I have perfect credit but I gather it's the economy situation being what it is. Then it looked like I was about to get a loan and I recieved word from the financial aid department that I owed an additional 4,000 for tuition alone and I was planning on using my financial aid from the government to cover that and they told me it was already maxed out. So with these two heavy obstacles, I decided to cancel italy. However as bummed as I'm, I actually feel a weight of stress lifted off me as far as finances go, also I'm greatfull I got to go last summer because most people don't get chances like that ever in their lives. So I'm taking the summer off to paint and draw solo, relax and catch up with my freinds. Hopefully I will be able to shoot for italy next summer, I'd love to go one last time while I'm still at the Academy. See you next time!

Hi Folks

Hi Folks, well I finished the spring semester on a high note, it's great to have more free time but I'm in the process of recommiting myself to my art, I mean seriously recommiting myself. I've gone back to oil and this weekend I finally returned to my studio after a five month hiatus and began work on my B-52's painting I've been ranting about. The underdrawing is now complete and transferred to canvas. I had such a great weekend off, I basically locked myself in my studio to complete the underdrawing and finished it around five AM. This ones a bit more challenging because I don't think I've ever drawn so many heads at the same time. My knowledge of color is stronger than ever now after three years of trying to figure everything out. So I will begin painting this week. I also had a great visit last night with my friends Travis and Andrea. Their kids are just so cute! I really don't want to go to work tonight! Todays my brother Billy and my dad,, Robert II's birthday so I have to go drop some cards off. Have a great night everybody!

Final countdown!

Hi There! So today is the last week of the spring semester and I have three more quizzes and I think I'm done. I had a great time in both of my classes, illustration 1 has given me the knowledge of how to create an illustration and History of film more or less enhanced my knowledge of film. I don't know if a break is anywhere in sight because I'm very psyched to get back into oil painting. Also I have one single major stressfull snag thats holding me back from going to italy this summer and that of course is financial issues, grrrrrrr! I've been shopping around for a personal loan and I'm sure all of you know how stressfull that is. However I'm trying to stay positive about the whole thing and hope for the best, so please keep your fingers crossed for me. Well on a good note my studio is finally cleaned and ready to work in, it feels so good to be organized. I think the one best way to keep organized is simple, after your done using something, even if it's scissors, PUT THEM BACK WHERE YOU FOUND THEM AFTER YOUR DONE USING THEM because if I don't, eventually stuff starts to pile up and before I know it I have a cluttered mess. So I'm beginning a new painting soon, I'm going to paint my first Rock group portrait of the The B-52's. Well I have to work for a friend tonight so I must go now, see you soon! Robert

Finals are finally here!

Hi there, well it's been a pretty good week since I last blogged. My grandmother had hopefully her last chemo treatment monday but unfortuantely hasn't felt good the last few days, that's usually the case, she'll be fine for a day after chemo and then the pain begins but I'm taking good care of her. Finals for the spring 09 semester is finally here but strangely I'm not as stressed as I usually am during finals, I think it may be because I'm happy it's almost over. I have two illustrations in the works and hopefully they'll see the light of day, one is an editorial of Sarah Palin the crazy wolf murderer and the other is of rock legend Stevie Nicks, I'm also revising my red riding hood illustration, all due monday along with a final exam. I decided not to participate in the Helena artwalk due to other important stuff I have to take care of and I'm just not ready to take on another major task right now while gearing up to go to italy in june. I'm hoping to be ready by fall though so I apologize to anyone who was planning on seeing me there. I'm almost set to go to italy except I have one giant snag I'm trying to get out of, which is the most stressfull of all, STUDENT LOANS, GRRRRRR! I wish I didn't need them but we all have to make sacrifices for stuff we want at times and with the economy the way it is, it's just more difficult financially. As soon as I take care of this I should be almost ready to pack and go. I've been off for the last two days which has been great, I had a nice visit with my friend Emily last night which is always great, we sipped pomegrante infusion tea and caught up, then I went to see my dad and by the time I got home it was too late to do anything else but watch tv and be a lazy couch potato. I wish I could've got more done but I slept in till five thirty! Working nights is a dogs life and horrible on your health and I'm not sure how much longer I can handle being a vampire. Well my plan for tonight is to get my studio cleaned and ready to work in again, I haven't been in my studio for five months and it's a disaster area. I'll leave you with that for now. Robert

A Reunion!

Hi Guys, Yesterday, May 2nd was a wonderful day for me. My dear friend Amber Corbett whom I've known since 1997 turned 30, recently we renewed our friendship with an all day visit at her house catching up from noon till ten o clock at night and it was great. I felt our friendship was renewed and the ice was finally smashed after five months. However the best thing is everytime we get together, whether it's three days or six months, it's as if we never parted ways and the chemestry and magic about our freindship is always still there. Those are the freinds you keep forever, no matter how far you go! I also got to see another dear friend whom I've not seen in eight years or so, Brandi Billie Spanking Spangler! She looks terrific and it was great playing catch up. Anyway a few days prior to this visit, Ambers mother Theresa secretly called me and told me a surprise birthday party for Amber was in the works at Dan and Theresa's lakehouse. I was delighted to hear this and wouldn't miss it for anything and it was such a perfect way to come out of the woods and see old friends again which I intend to keep on doing after being cooped up all winter, working nights, taking care of my grandparents and painting, all which basically keep me secluded and fairly grounded. So I got off work friday morning at 6:30, got four hours of sleep and then went and picked up Brandi and off we went to the lakehouse, I really enjoyed visiting with brandi on the way while rocking out to the The B-52's, one of my favorite groups. The party was wonderful! I got to see old friends,some that I havent seen in many years including Mike, Jamie, Christine, Melissa, Danny, Theresa, Rudolf, Joey, Troy, Kori, Bradlee, Douglas and little Saphron and the energy was just great. I was a bit disappointed not to see Colin, Ambers bro, he had some care trouble and couldn't be there but now that everyones coming out of the woods I'm sure I'll see that little fucker soon. We ate great food, drank tons of great booze and mingled with each other, reflecting on the past, present and future. Lots of great laughs and the mother of all places to go landscape painting, just beautiful scenery. I left just before dark and took brandi home. As I drove home, as tired and tipsy as I was, I felt rejuvinated to be back in touch with my old friends and so glad to have finally got out of the house. I'm also very inspired to plein air paint again up at the lakehouse and as soon as the weathers a bit warmer, thats exactly what I'll be doing before embarking to italy in June. Overall the main point of this post is to tell you all how blessed and proud I'am to have all the great freinds that I do. I don't really care how many friends I have but we all have to have at least one and you're set for life, as that old song says by Bette Midler goes, "You gotta have friends!" Okay Thanks for reading!

Hi again! So I guess I may be getting a bit better at updating my blog after much delay. I want everyone to know I'll be posting new work soon!

Clint-Watercolor 2009

Here's a mixed medium of watercolor and Mr. Sketch marker I did in 2008 right before heading to italy! Clint Eastwood!

I'm Back!

Hi Guys, I decided it was about time to update my blog. I promise to try and update more often, I can't promise on a daily basis but we'll just see what happens. So 2009 has been very promising so far, lots of stuff going on and it seems to be heating up just in time for summer. I began 2009 with a much needed rest from school, drawing and just life as an artist in general. So I caught up on my reading and managed to finish three books over winter break, that's something of a record breaker for me, I really need to read more often. I also was very glad to be a complete couch potato over break and got hooked to old tv shows on dvd and I managed to watch every episode of six feet under and the golden girls. Watching tv is something I rarely get to do anymore and many people don't realize an artist is usually always busy and I think were all a bit more selfish with our time than others. The most important thing I can say right now is my grandmother has made almost a full recovery after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer, she has one more chemo treatment to go. My thanks goes out to all of you for all your good wishes, they've helped more than you know. Currently I'm taking two classes at the Academy, Illustration 1 and History of film-Post 1940 and working nights at Shodair to keep my bank account full. I like my classes alot and I have great instructors but I must admit I'm ready for the end of the semester on May 16th. So here's whats coming up, I'm going on another study abroad to italy this summer to study printmaking, I'm excited to return and curious of what new adventures, new friends and artistic horizons are ahead. I also plan on plein air painting on my own while I'm over there. The main reason for returning to italy is mainly because I feel like I haven't satisfied my artistic soul as a painter over there and I just want to paint one great masterpiece over there. However, it doesn't end here, I'll be leaving italy at the end of july and I'll be flying over to phoenix to meet my favorite female rocker, Pat Benatar and her husband Neil Giraldo, I have a VIP pass and a seat away from the audience. I'm very excited but very nervous already. So I think it's going to be one hellava great summer! In the fall I will be returning to my studio to go back to work on a series of paintings I'm preparing for my first solo art show. Well I'll leave you with that, much more to come and I'll be seeing you soon!

Happy New Year!

Hi Guys, I sold a total of eight landscape paintings out of ten that were exhibited in the show, "Enchanted Italy" in San Francisco at the 79 gallery. I totally didn't expect this at all and I'm very happy that it went so well. So far 2009 has been great, I'm on break from school, my grandma is feeling good after two sessions of chemo therapy, she has four more to go. She's being treated for ovarian cancer so I've been helping her and my grandpa out alot which feels nice to be doing something that's making a difference. I'm also painting again, I have one painting of Aretha Franklin that's almost finished and I'll be posting it soon as well as a giant cityscape of italy that I'm going to begin tomorrow hopefully. Other than this I've been taking it pretty easy, reading alot, watching T.V and going out for beers with friends, all things I haven't really been able to do in awhile. Well thats about it for now, I'll have more soon. Love, Robert