Robert blogs on art, creativity, politics, CSA, religion and culture. Many overlap into multiple categories, like motivational or random favorites. Robert is a life-long artist, writer, musician & actor, a professional creative his entire adult life. Born in 1959 in Detroit, he has lived in New York, New Orleans and currently in Charleston. His commission portraits and fine art are part of over a thousand collections throughout North America. Read his bio.
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The Artist’s Soul
The Battle for the Artist's Soul This Fran Lebowitz quote seems quite offensive today, where art has been so thoroughly democratized. I don’t subscribe to this perspective, of course. But there is a grain of truth in it. I would only add, for those interested in the...
The Angel Oak
The Process of Painting the Angel Oak This is my largest work on stretched linen canvas. The painting is 5' x 7.' Yes, that's right, I said FIVE feet! It was commissioned by our neighbor/friends Amy and Justin Couch, who needed a large piece as a focal point with...
Shall We Overcome?
Replacing Hate with Love People upset by the removal of Confederate or racist statues like John C. Calhoun think of it as an effort to alter history. As an artist, I take very seriously the removal of artwork which might be aesthetically beautiful, or be a familiar...
Portrait of Bill Brusilow
Portraits don't always have to take themselves too seriously Everyone knows I love portraiture, that I love to study the human form and look deeply into my subjects. The process is compelling and there is no end to the what there is to learn about the subject. I have...
Life in the Corona
Corona, noun. A part of the body resembling or likened to a crown. I've railed about white privilege in the past but now the issue may actually be resonating among those of us who have been enjoying it the most. I’m well aware of the bias of mine and my fellow whites....
Who’s Looting Who?
The murder of George Floyd has revealed a breach in our "Social Contract." What is happening right now has been happening every day for more than 350 years. We just keep turning a blind eye. When are we going to wake up to the real looting going on? Massive bailouts...
Portraits Are Our Personal Legacy
POETraits Every now and then, I have the privilege to hear from the subjects of portraits I did as many as forty years ago, when I first started doing commission portraits. Here is a current photo of Dianna and Kara, whose portrait I did about 35 years ago. I was/am...
Goddess of the Universe
We are all one with the cosmic dust of the multiverse I love it when a client/friend asks me to go outside the box and use my creativity. Who said a portrait has to be all about how we normally look? Sometimes I fancy myself to be soaring among the stars. Maija had an...
Shortages
We’ve all been experiencing a run on toilet paper and hand sanitizer. But you may not be aware of the extreme shortages in portraits and fine art that are gripping the nation. People are falling over themselves to get the proper fix of meaning and inspiration, a...
The Next “New Normal”
What if the world stopped turning? What if everything just stopped? We're now as close as we'll ever get to an answer to that question. We are experiencing a grand pause. A huge reset button has been pushed. Even our enslavement is on pause. For a brief moment in...
Making Music
My Sonic Journey I am now recording original music and making it available for soundtracks, films and other uses, with permission. ⇒ Listen to more of mine and Danny 's music ⇐ This particular track features my clarinet playing. At one time, many moons ago, I was...
Freedom and Quarantining
Get into freedom We talk a lot about freedom in this country. We think of freedom in terms of getting away from something that binds us. But freedom isn’t getting out of something, like prison or “work.” We often confuse escape with freedom. Real Freedom gets us into...
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My portrait of Miss Susie Jackson, along with "The Tan Suit," will be part of the upcoming MOJA exhibition at Charleston City Gallery, part of the city-wide MOJA Festival. ...
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Thank you Tom for your insight and perspective on the age old debate on nudity. Apparently, even male nudity from the waste up is a thing. I think ageism may have also been a factor - no one wants to see my sagging carcass. I'm proud I won, but I've been around long enough to know it could have easily been a bust - just not my bust. "Reflections" goes to Cincinnati next for a national show. I'm proud of the high quality this show is attracting, raising the artistic standards, if not the moral standards, of our region. This was my second 'best of' in as many years of the Lowcountry FA Showcase. Now, the question dangles tantalizingly over the horizon: should I go for three next year? Or quit while I'm ahead (but not a semi nude body!)? ...
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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.I am excited to announce my painting, "Gratitude" has been juried into the Fall 2026 Open Juried Exhibition of the Portrait Society of Atlanta! The exhibition will take place at the Quinlan Visual Arts Center in Gainesville, Georgia from October 3 to December 5, 2026. If you're in the Atlanta area definitely come check out the show! This painting will be available for purchase during the exhibition.
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#portraitsocietyofatlanta #painting #portraitpainting ...
Call Now
You are invited to an exhibition of my work and a lively Portrait Demonstration
PORTRAIT DEMONSTRATION
SEPTEMBER 15, @ 11:00 AM
at IOP REC CENTER, 24 28th Ave,
Isle of Palms, SC 29451
info: 843.886.8294
The exhibition will run from August 31 - September 19 ...
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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.Still wet on the easel, The Tan Suit has great significance, not only because Obama infamously wore one as President . . . Remember when this was such a terrible transgression? But making billions on buisness deals as President is okay? But I digress. This painting is from a pic I took in 2010 in front of Mother Emanuel Church, in a simpler time.
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