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.
BLOG CATEGORIES
ALL BLOGS
Arts in the Schools – A Secret Plot to Connect the Arts to Academic Success
A Secret Plot, Using the Arts to Bring Test Scores Up. As artist in residence in North Charleston I taught kids and their teachers how to draw. It was a simple mission. People who believed that they were not talented achieved success and there were a lot of...
50 Reasons Why Your Kid (YOU!) Should Learn to Draw and Paint
50 Reasons Why YOU Should (and still can) Learn to Draw and Paint My big message in school presentations (and wherever someone is listening) has always been: visual literacy is possible and available to everyone, no talent or golden ticket required. And yet, today's...
Painting with ADHD
"To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk." — Thomas Edison Embracing Your "Limitations" Some of the best artists I know live in a world of chaos called ADHD. They love to play in the mud of ambiguity. I'm not sure if it's because ADHD is more...
Awakening Marsh Demo
Awakening Marsh - Demonstration Sometimes a demo is just what the students (and teacher) needs to get the juices flowing. Awakening Marsh was a demo for students from a photo I've been eying for a while. I don't often take on sun rises but I wanted to just...
Crying in the Face of Beauty
Why Do We Cry? "We cry only in the face of beauty." Alan Langdon, legendary acting coach I'm not sure where Alan got this quote but it has always stuck with me, not only in my career as an actor but also in my career as a human. There is a lot of insight packed into...
Brush with Wine Events
Brush with Wine As an experiment to find out what's up with all those Wine and paint party venues popping up all over the place I asked myself, what if we tweaked this party-paint-along concept to make it more meaningful and not just a drunken brew-ha-ha? I like the...
50 Reasons Why Playing Music Is Good For Your Kids
50 Reasons Why Playing Music Is Good For Your Kids My son Danny asked me for three good reasons why he should continue playing violin. I gave him 52. Teaches discipline. Teaches us how to be free within specific structures. Teaches problem-solving. Breaking down a...
Mary Draws How She Wants to be Like Our President
"Mary when she grows up" I want to be like our President Mary wants to be a hero when she grows up; she wants to be like the President, and do everything she can to stop the bad guys from hurting innocent children, like President Obama wants to do in Syria. We...
50th Anniversary of the March on Washington 2013
March on Washington 2013 "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." Dr. Martin Luther King In response to this famous MLK quote, a friend...
Finding NETI
As a followup to the original NETI intorductory short, this movie explores the man behind the myth, asking the hard questions about existence and whether identity is real or imagined. How can NETI be that he is not? And if he is not, then what is he not?...
Triggering My Abuse – the music video
We had such fun making this music video at a recent Soiree with friends. It's absurd and hilariously ridiculous, an absolutely essential healing and cathartic experience. Don't be turned off by the taboo title. At some point we just have to laugh about these stories...
Jesus Slept
This is the poem that so many asked me about during a recent poetry reading at The 827. Come read your poems there too, every Wednesday evening at 7:30 - 9pm. While there, take in the NETI exhibit. When I say take it in, I mean TAKE IT IN! Like a poem. ...
Maniscalco Gallery on Facebook
Old Guy - Maniscalco Gallery ... See MoreSee Less
Old Guy - Maniscalco Gallery
maniscalcogallery.com
This old guy modeled for a workshop twenty years ago and I always wanted to paint him. So here he is. I enjoyed creating the sparkle of color in his flesh.What should you expect from a Legacy portrait? Hint: it's not a trick question. ... See MoreSee Less
The Real Deal - Maniscalco Gallery
maniscalcogallery.com
Having a portrait is a sacred trust for me. I have worked hard over my 45 year career so I can guarantee an excellent result.I love the diversity of expression out there in the artworld. Here's a little information about my painting style and philosophy. ... See MoreSee Less
Expressive Realism - Maniscalco Gallery
maniscalcogallery.com
I prefer this way of working because it preserves a certain level of artistic integrity, the "backbone" of the work. It is more interesting,I guarantee you'll love your portrait. I will make sure it is everything you've hoped it will be. That means we are working together for a common goal, which we will discuss fully before I paint a stroke. It's a delicate process I have honed over 45 years. ... See MoreSee Less
This content isn't available right now
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.... See MoreSee Less
This content isn't available right now
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.... See MoreSee Less