Art Instruction Blog
Those Who Teach, Stand the Most to Learn.
"I know no more sacred duty than to rear and educate a child." Ludwig van Beethoven. If you want to learn something, really learn it, try teaching it. Often, in my classes, I ask other students to explain a concept with which they themselves are struggling. Putting...
Negative People
I wonder about all these "negative" people my friends talk about from whom they always seem to be running. Who are they? I have a hunch that sometimes these "negative" people, or non-people, may really be those who don't happen to tow our line; the ones who may not...
Painting the Finish
“No one is an artist unless he carries his picture in his head before painting it, and is sure of his method and composition.” Claude Monet. This conundrum is found in all disciplines. I equate the creative process to riding a horse. You want to ride the trail and...
My New Play
Colorful characters, along with clever twists and turns of circumstance are lots of fun on stage but without ideas, it's just another sitcom. rm As I work on my play I am struck by the challenges of balancing theme and plot. The deadliest mistake an artist can make is...
Ego Triggers
"It is a singular sensation to see and hear one's self praised, and then to be conscious of one's own imperfections as I am. I always regard such occasions as admonitions to get nearer the unattainable goal set for us by art and nature, hard as it may be." Ludwig...
Clearing a Path for Creativity
For many years I thought being positive was a process of denying my fears and resentments, the main obstacles for a creative flow, and replacing them with love and acceptance. The Law of Attraction is great stuff but I have found until I was first able to face my...
The Role of the Master
In life we take turns being the master or the apprentice. Often we are both at once. These distinctions are always by mutual agreement. It is through these relationships that we grow. Some master/apprentice arrangements are healthy. Some are not. When the ego...
Where Will Your Portrait End Up?
"Thank the work of our hands: weaving steel into bridges, finishing one more report for the boss on time, stitching another wound or uniform, the first brush stroke on a portrait, or the last floor on the Freedom Tower jutting into a sky that yields to our...
Producing Greatness
The true artist has no pride; unhappily he realizes that art has no limitations, he feels darkly how far he is from the goal, and while, perhaps he is admired by others, he grieves that he has not yet reached the point where the better genius shall shine before him...
“My First Painting” by Cate Maniscalco
Today I'm proud to feature an extended BLOG by my wife, the courageous Cate Maniscalco. Week one: Wednesday morning, the sun shining bright on a warm, beautiful mid-November day, tearing ourselves from one another, I realize the time. Oh my, Rob's painting class...




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Exhausted but exhilarated having made a couple paintings during the first ever Charleston Plein Air competition at Mary Martin Gallery. The St Phillips painting was sold on the spot at the gallery as I was turning them in today to this nice couple. Talk about fresh art?! The Pineapple Fountain with City Gallery behind, is a view we don't often see. ...
Call Now
"Last Tango in Wonderland" is another collaboration with Nick C. Cerrato in which I painted what was behind his abstract expressionistic painting, which happened to be We the People of the world, being danced upon by the Epstein class. ...
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When this happens, it's usually because the owner only shared it with a small group of people, changed who can see it or it's been deleted.Day one of the MMG plein air festival in Charleston. A pretty ambitious painting of St Philip. ...
"Evil's Place," another collaboration with my dear friend and great artist, Nick C. Cerrato. ...
"Tempus Fugit" captures the instant fire and ice meet, when strange entities are released into the human psyche. Another collaboration between myself and artist Nick C. Cerrato. ...