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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A Labor of Love
The Russell Ebeid Portrait There is nothing like that sweet moment when I unveil the portrait, into which I have poured my heart and soul. The immediate family traveled to Pontiac St Joseph Hospital to see and approve the portrait of Russell Ebeid, in advance of the...
My Proof of God
Warning: trigger alert-explicit content. Faith is a deeply personal experience. People come to it in many ways. Although proof of God exists all around us, my personal proof for the existence of a loving God came to me in the most unlikely of circumstances. I had an...
Day of the Dove
We just re-watched this episode from STOS. “Day of the Dove” is very salient at this moment in our history, when an almost irrational hatred and anger grips our planet. The desire to win, to defeat our “enemies” has taken us over. Who is instigating this division...
Making America Great Again?
Want to make America great again? Making anything anything AGAIN is the fool’s exercise in futility. So don’t look backwards. Instead focus specifically on what you thought was so great "back then" and manifest it, today. Accept others. Accept yourself For instance,...
“Uncork/Unveil” Art and Wine Revealed.
PRESS RELEASE: “Uncork/Unveil Art and Wine Revealed" Every Saturday 4-6 pm 476 King Street, Charleston SC 29403 Contact: Robert Maniscalco 313-689-2993 or Mark & Ken at 854-222-3939 Uncork Charleston presents exquisite paintings paired with exceptional wines....
Beauty and the Beast – Part 2
This mythical story of "Beauty and the Beast" is a metaphor for dissociation, the psychological separation from oneself. My out of body experience during my Childhood Sexual Abuse was no accident. God was not only protecting me from the perpetrator, but also from...
Drawing and Painting for Everyone
At the end of a very fun four week drawing and painting class in my North Charleston studio I am so impressed with these first efforts in portraiture. I keep training my competition, sharing the best kept secrets. Why? Because I believe the joy of artistic expression...
Faith
We are taught to believe faith is that secret thought we have deep inside us. Faith is not that thing we profess out loud, that picture we present to the world, but the real truth of what we feel deep down in our being. I’ve come to understand Faith much differently....
The New Normal
I am dubious of the normal, particularly the new normal, where destructive, unhealthy, hate-filled voices are given credence. Their "common sense" solutions are often anything but. It's time to embrace our neurodiversity. Now more than ever, we need the ideas from...
Reverse Engineering History
Imagine what Hitler might have been able to accomplish if he'd had access to today’s social media, technology, wealth, weaponry combined with such intense levels of division and mistrust among his citizenry. Germany’s democracy collapsed under far less pressure. It...
Waking Up is Hard to Do
Trump is performing exactly as expected. His presidency is turning the status quo on its head, chipping away at democracy, discrediting, dismantling and undermining the institutions we’ve built up and have come to take for granted for so long. We are moving from a...
Vincent John Doe Piccolo Spoletto Wrap-up
We did it! Three amazing world premiere performances of Vincent John Doe at City Gallery, part of Piccolo Spoletto 2018, are now behind us. It was surreal for this playwright/actor, after all that work, over so many years, to receive standing O's, applause after each...
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Behind the Scene 11x 14″ original #oilpainting on linen, framed by the artist. A behind the scenes look at the glorious #sunflower, the great back actor. This is a continuation of my micro series where we take a closer look at #Common objects found in #nature. this is an homage to the iconic Van Gogh #painting with the similar perspective of the underneath of a Sunflower. ... See MoreSee Less
Unintended Consequences 96″ x 30″ oil on panel
The Three Perspectives:
@
EAGLE: Look at me. I know what I am doing. My glorious mission gives me certain rights. Certain allowances. My voice is louder than yours. But that’s not what makes me right. Yes, I am intentional. I know what I want. And I speak for millions. While you speak for no one. | But the thing that makes me right, is that I speak for God, because I know he is with me because I feel his presence and His righteousness in my blood. That’s what makes me right. | Look at me. I’m perfect. Determined. My team will always win. Why? Because God is on our side. And if my team doesn’t win the battle, we will win the war. | And if we don’t win the war it will be because we failed to listen to God OR the devil corrupted our intentions. Therefore we must destroy evil, wherever it appears. We will find it together and we will flush it out. | Trust that I am in control and that God is with me. If you fail to obey me, as God’s chosen vessel, you will surely parish. You cannot hide from my eye. You cannot resist my charisma. Fear me if you must. Love me if you’re willing. But obey me, for I am your only hope.
DOG: Look at me. Do you think I need help? You think I’m weak. But I’m not. Sometimes I feel so big and strong, even though I know I’m not very strong or smart. But one thing I do know, is that he is strong. My leash tender. I trust the strength of those who know. His certainty is my comfort. My leash tells me I am in good hands. My collar is my Shepard; I shall not want.
GIRL: Look at me. I am flying. I’m flying high above the fray. God is with me. Nature is with me. We are one. God will protect me because I trust Him. I know God is IN the Eagle and the dog. And I know I am part of a larger story. The journey I am on is longer than my life or the dog’s life, or the Eagle’s life. It began long before I was born and it will never end. I am safe in the knowledge that I will never die. So nothing can harm me. I am at peace. ... See MoreSee Less
"My Backyard" are part of "Identity and Self" #exhibition at @parkcirclegallery through April 25. Lemme know if and when you'd like to meet me there for a #privatetour, Wednesday-Saturday. #artist #charlestonartist ... See MoreSee Less
In Charleston, the name Gedney Howe is legendary three times over.
My #oilportrait of Gedney @lawofficesofgedneyhowe Howe III in his office. I am so fortunate and honored to have been able to share some beautiful moments with such exceptional individuals and those who love them. Gedney Howe III is one such individual, a man who gave so much to this community, as Charleston’s preeminent attorney. I had the privilege of speaking with him briefly before he unexpectedly passed last year. We had planned the portrait to happen while he was still with us. Though in mourning, Gedney IV helped me capture the vision he had for his father’s portrait.
Gedney III and I had one very special person in common, the late Buzz Harper (the portrait above, the iconic gentleman in the white suit and red tie), our dear friend and the designer of the interior of this office, as well as the Calhoun Mansion, which when it changed hands, sadly lost the distinctive Harper touch. The chair in the portrait, once owned by President Howard Taft, a beautiful marble and lovely portrait grace the dark wood law bookshelves. Formidable, but reassuringly warm. Gedney stands confidently, but again, with a touch of warmth. He cared about the #law but he also cared for the people he served so well throughout his storied career.
The portrait will be on display at my exhibition, "Identity and Self" at the Park Circle Gallery in North Charleston, opening today, Friday April 3, 5-7 pm. The exhibition runs through April 25. ... See MoreSee Less
In Greek mythology, Cassandra was a prophetess whose fate was to foretell future events correctly but never to be heeded or believed. She was the daughter of Priam, Troy’s last king, and his wife Hecuba. The god Apollo fell in love with #Cassandra and offered her the gift of foretelling the future in return for her love. Cassandra agreed to the bargain and received Apollo’s gift but then refused to keep her word. In retaliation, Apollo cursed her so that her prophecies would never be believed. When we warn of what is happening to our country today, this is how it feels. #painting #artcollector @highlight ... See MoreSee Less
The #Ghost of #Denmark Vessey, 24×20″ oil on linen, framed by the artist
#Vessey appears as an indomitable spirit, standing with dignity, bible in hand, as if he has risen above the hatred of the racists, who’s anger and fear, represented by a posse of angry white men, who have driven his body into the ocean. But they cannot touch his spirit, which endures forever. Denmark Vessey led the first slave revolt in SC and in America. This will be part of my upcoming exhibition at Park Circle Gallery in North Charleston Opening April 3 5-7 pm running through April.
More info:
www.facebook.com/share/18MGV5rPpw/?mibextid=wwXIfr ... See MoreSee Less