Rob's Blog
For nearly four years, I’ve enjoyed being a stay-at-home dad with my son. Raising a child is a lot like learning to draw: both have unpredictable challenges, as well as moments of effortless bliss during developmental stages of growth. I’ve found that it takes curiosity, attention, and commitment to achieve a flow state in both parenting […]
When Lenore came to my studio eleven years ago, she enjoyed making art but wasn’t confident in her ability to draw what she saw. “I never learned to draw, and I thought that if I wanted to continue painting, I needed basic drawing skills. It wasn’t easy for me.” The years that followed were transformative for both […]
With feet swollen tightly into Birkenstocks, he waited nervously for his name to be called. His rotund body was starkly juxtaposed with delicate fingers deftly scrolling a cellphone. Except for a few empty chairs near this young man, the waiting room in the hospital’s cardiology unit was filled to capacity. I sat down just across […]
Showing off our finished drawings to family and friends can be gratifying. Enthusiastic viewers appreciate your techniques and may even understand that you spend many hours practicing to improve your skills. But hidden to their eyes is your dedication to doing studies—a most misunderstood aspect of learning to draw from observation. In the tradition of […]
Not even for a brief moment does life hold still for you. When sketching outdoors, the first lines placed on the page are the most important. These spontaneous marks are what I call life lines and they are vital in translating your first visual reaction to your subject onto paper. The landscape sketches of master artist Jean-Baptiste-Camille […]
One afternoon, while rearranging the studio between sessions with students, I picked up a vase of flowers. Holding the vase in my hands, I slowly rotated it to notice a cluster of freshly cut tree leaves embracing a curved carnation stem—they seemed to be performing a graceful dance together. Fascinating drawing subjects have a way […]
Not making this drawing would have been easy. For a couple of days I walked right past my friend’s basket of ordinary garden tools and nearby potted plants, not even giving them a moment’s notice. But little by little, this random backyard arrangement began to capture my fascination. And then it found its way onto the pages […]
For the past two years the Covid variants have behaved like those annoying guests who refuse to leave, long after the party’s over. Even after we finally get angry, and push them out the door, they linger and lurk for an opportunity to mutate; then sneak back into our lives and go viral. But things […]
Is drawing an essential part of the human spirit? I think Werner Herzog’s 2010 documentary film, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, answers the question by illuminating the spirit of an ancient drawing hand that may dwell in each of us. Although the emphasis of the film concerns paleontological aspects of cave rock art, I’d like to offer […]