Portraiture Blog
Several Important Feature Story Prompts
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 7, 2026 "Now, that's Art to Believe" rm Contact: Robert Maniscalco, artist/author [email protected] mobile: 313-689-2993 click on text for links ↓ Identity and Self a solo exhibition by Robert Maniscalco at Park Circle...
Dennis Drew Portrait
Portrait of a Hero As a Portrait Painter I am always interested in getting deeper into the mind and heart of my subjects. Charlestonian, Dennis Drew came to me originally looking for a portrait to celebrate his life and legacy. Many around him felt a portrait was an...
The Archeology of My Art
I think of my paintings as a piece of archeology, not a snapshot in time, or another scrolling image. I don't mean to artsplain, but a physical painting (not the image of the painting) literally contains the millions of choices made by an artist, in this case mine,...
Empathy is the Truth of the Matter
I remember moving to Andover high school in my sophomore year, on the other side of town. I found myself sitting alone every day at the cafeteria table during lunch. I had enjoyed a certain popularity in my previous school. At least I was well known by my friends, who...
The Long Lost Portrait
I Ran into an Old Friend At a recent art opening, I ran into Nancy Delewski, the sitter of my old band mate Marie. When I was at Wayne State, in the music department, I was putting myself through music school painting portraits in exchange for accompaniment, or for a...
Fame and Fortune
My PR person (me) should win an award. I have had more than my share of media coverage over my 45-year career. It's not just an ego boost. It is necessary for my career to get my name out there, to remain relevant, even though I am actually a shy person (believe it or...
A Commission as Collaboration
We're Jamin' Once in a while a client allows me to do whatever I want. Of course, what I want is to please my client. I have found the best and only way to please the client is to please myself. But pleasing anyone, including myself, is a funny thing. The truth is...
Expressive Realism
"Looks like a photograph" Many people tell me paintings look like a photograph. While I know this is meant as a compliment, I would like to make the case that my work as painter is far deeper than a mere photograph, with apologies to fine art photographers everywhere....
The Real Deal
What Should you Expect from a Legacy Portrait? Basically, you are looking for an excellent likeness that will capture and express the world of the sitter, both inside and out. You really want an excellent portrait of yourself, your family or the founder of your...
Father’s Day
Losing one's father is a sad moment in anyone's life, no doubt. But it is also a necessary and meaningful milestone. Even as we honor and acknowledge how much our fathers have done for us to make us the individuals we have become, we need to put in perspective the...









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The figures in "A Walk in the Park" are the inner cast you carry everywhere—the fool who leaps, the doubter who drags his feet, the dreamer who stares past the horizon, the judge with crossed arms, the child who still believes. They bicker, whisper, revolt and reconcile, but together they make the one you call “I.” We are all onstage at once, caught in the thin light between meaning and emptiness—a reminder that your chaos is not a flaw, but the chorus through which your true voice finally emerges. ... See MoreSee Less
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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."Identity and Self"
Opening Reception and Exhibition at
Park Circle Art Gallery
4820 Jenkins Ave.
North Charleston, SC 29405
The Exhibition runs through April 26
Gallery Hours: W-F 10:30-5:30, Sat 12-4
The collection will center on how identity interferes with our true self, our true freedom, which is a central value for an artist, as well as any self-actualized individual. For instance, when I draw my idea of a thing, rather than opening myself up to the full potential contained in the thing itself, I am limiting my creative potential.
So, who are we at our core, after we strip away the names we call ourselves, the parties with whom we affiliate, the causes for which we are fighting? After all, these are all inventions of the ego, which separate us from God and the infinite. Existence consists of light on form. Light is my medium as an artist. I am a painter of the self. I am looking always for something deeper than the surface representations in my subjects. It is the true self I am looking for when I paint, whether it is an orange, a sky or a judge. ... See MoreSee Less
“The Fantasy” oil on canvas 36" x 48", invites you into that lucid dream space where imagination feels more vivid than reality. In this oil painting, a solitary figure drifts through a dreamlike landscape of softened edges and impossible light. But the story is not fixed—you’re handed a doorway.
This piece lives in the uncertainty between escape and awakening. At first glance, it feels like a beautiful dream: rich color, fluid forms, and a sense of effortless drift. But stay with it, and you begin to notice the undercurrent—a quiet question about what we run toward, and what we’re trying to leave behind.
For the thoughtful collector, “The Fantasy” becomes a mirror for their own inner world. It speaks to anyone who has ever built a private refuge in their mind: the daydreamer, the creative, the survivor, the seeker who knows that fantasies can be both sanctuary and trap. The painting doesn’t judge that impulse; it honors it, and gently asks what new possibilities might emerge when we begin to bring those inner visions into the light of our real lives.
Hung in a living room, bedroom, or reading space, “The Fantasy” doesn’t just decorate a wall—it opens a conversation. With its layered symbolism and emotional depth, it’s the kind of work people return to, again and again, discovering new details and meanings as their own story evolves. ... See MoreSee Less
"Three Little Buds" is a framed #oilpainting looking for a new home. “Three Little Buds” captures a tender moment of becoming: three rosebuds held in that brief, luminous stage before they open. The dew on their petals hints at fresh beginnings and quiet resilience after the rain. This piece speaks to anyone who feels on the edge of a new chapter—honoring both the vulnerability and the promise of what is about to bloom.
“Three Little Buds" is about beginnings and the quiet power of what hasn’t fully unfolded yet. I painted them at that in-between moment—still closed, but clearly full of life and color, with the dew clinging to them after a fresh start.
For me, the three buds might suggest three children / three important relationships / three versions of ourselves at different times, held together in the same space of light and nurtured by potential energy. The droplets are a reminder that renewal often comes right after the storm; there’s a softness and resilience there.
It’s a painting for someone who connects with the idea of growth, protection, and the beauty of what’s just about to bloom or has bloomed in their own life. ... See MoreSee Less
Here's the entire portrait. I love judicial portraits. What do you think of this portrait? Know anyone who wants a portrait legacy created? A portrait is how people know us when we're gone. ... See MoreSee Less