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Some of the original paintings on this page are available exclusively at certain galleries. You should contact those galleries for further information. If you are interested in any of the other originals you can either contact the consultant at the gallery where you've seen Robert's work, or get in touch with us for more information on the painting.
The Swimmer, 2010
48” X 36” Oil on Canvas
Bear and salmon feature prominently in many Northwestern Native American legends as powerful beings that provide life force to all people. This is well illustrated every spring when bears fish for salmon by standing in the rivers and near waterfalls to catch them as they jump upstream. Less well known is that they occasionally go underwater to find weak or dead salmon (the healthy fish can swim away faster than the bear). It occurred to me that the bear might find herself in a world of mystery and wonder immersed in the water on a sunny spring day, much as we are when we go diving into this different world.
Available exclusively through Borsini-Burr Art Galliery SOLD
AM II, 2010
40” X 52” Oil on Canvas
Earlier this year, I decided to do a different version of a painting I had completed some years earlier. This version has more of a springtime feel to it and the mountains in the background have been brought forward to create a more intimate landscape.
Available exclusively through Chloe Fine Arts SOLD
The Blessing, 2010
24" X 20" Oil on Canvas
The idea of standing under a gentle waterfall on a hot summer day is a simple pleasure we all have enjoyed at some point in our lives. For this bear it is the same.
Available exclusively through Chloe Fine Arts
Guardians, 2010
36" X 48" Oil on Canvas
This painting continues my fascination with bears who hide behind trees and keep an eye out for us, as the path before us unfolds.
Available exclusively through Chloe Fine Arts
Hunters of the Woods, 2010
44" X 36" Oil on Canvas
Some years ago I spent ten days in Northern Minnesota dog-sledding and camping in -30 degree weather. Although we never saw any wolves, we would hear them at night and find traces of them every morning. They remained a mystery to us humans. The sled dogs paid little attention to the wolves' calls and scent. We were definitely the outsiders.
Available exclusively through Chloe Fine Arts
The Decison, 2010
24" X 40" Oil on Canvas
I was always concerned as a youngster, that decisions were being made for me without my involvement. As any sensitive, yet proud, rabbit knows these decisions could mean the difference between darkness and light. Either way, until the decision was made there was a trepidation about what was going on amongst the elders. In this painting the youngster is perhaps headed for the storm but we are not certain that he hasn't been called back to go in the opposite direction.
Available exclusively through Borsini-Burr Art Galliery
The Gate, 2010
30" X 36" Oil on Canvas
This idea has been in my sketchbook for several years. Recently I was able to solve the compositional problems in order to communicate my idea of this family undertaking a difficult journey to reach the high point of the mountain. The scene is very loosely based on a painting by Casper David Friedrich titled Rocky Ravine.
Available exclusively through Borsini-Burr Art Galliery
The March, 2010
30" X 24" Oil on Canvas
I often observe rabbits heading along the same well-worn trail one after another. It occurs to me that the trail is a result of a collective habit and preference rather than an individual choice. The trails don't necessarily go in a straight line or to anywhere in particular (their burrows are usually off to one side of the trail) yet they must have been established over many generations of rabbit travels and probably were established by a repeated majority choice. This painting came about after thinking about this and the implications of us all going in the same direction— could we be missing out on something?
Available exclusively through Chloe Fine Arts
The Plunge, 2010
36" X 36" Oil on Canvas
We now know that rabbits do in fact swim, as related by the Secret Service's account of a rabbit swimming across a lake towards President Carter's fishing boat. (This prompted a defensive move by the assigned agent). I think they may even enjoy swimming, especially when it is a very hot day. I created this painting based on the blending of a typical scene that a Hudson River painter may have executed and imagined the rabbits doing what they would do when humans aren't watching.
Contact the Studio for more information or call 510.427.3594
The Divers, 2010
40” X 30” Oil on Canvas
This setting is taken from a painting by Howard Terpning who often depicted Native Americans in the landscape of the southwestern United States. I like to think bears enjoy waterfalls and I have always imagined them having a load of fun jumping off the tops of the cliffs into the deep water when we aren't looking. Since we don't really know this to be true, the leaping is implied and I hope viewers have fun pondering this.
Available exclusively through Lahaina Galleries SOLD
The Investigation, 2010
36” X 48” Oil on Canvas
We are constantly surprised by the tricks and turns life can take as we head toward our own everlasting light. Sometimes things occur that are difficult to explain or accept. We end up interrupting our journey to stop and find out what has occurred. The clues can be unclear and we are often left with more questions than answers. This painting was inspired by Watership Down by Richard Adams, a mythic tale of a rabbit's heroic attempt to save his community. His journey is fraught with danger as his adventures unfold. Adams said of his writing that he wanted to create something that was both real and unreal at the same time. In this painting we are asked to make our own investigation as to what is going on in this scene around the oak tree. Some clues are provided, but perhaps the ultimate answer is closer to Adams' intentions.
Available exclusively through Lahaina Galleries SOLD
Maya, 2010
24” X 36” Oil on Canvas
Maya here refers to the term used in Hindu philosophy to describe the limited physical and mental reality in which we become entangled. It’s often described as an illusion that is neither real or unreal, true or untrue. The water drops or bubbles are a transitory part of a greater hole (ocean) that we need to see through to gain enlightenment. Of course, as we see through the illusions that are before us, the one thing we can be sure of is that there always will be more challenges to our perception of reality.
Available exclusively through Lahaina Galleries
Bubo, 2009
30” X 40” Oil on Canvas
More accurately the creature depicted here resembles Bubo v. Virginianus or a Great Horned Owl. In any case Bubo is the genus of large horned owls from the family Strigidae, which also includes eagle owls and fish owls.
Contact the Studio for more information or call 510.427.3594
The Vista, 2009
24” X 30” Oil on Canvas
I wanted to create a romantic setting to place these rabbits in. Like The Perfect World, The Vista is a place where things are quiet and settled, as they are on a summer afternoon in the countryside. The rabbits remain vigilant, as this is their natural state even while being one with their surroundings in the same moment.
Contact the Studio for more information or call 510.427.3594
The Revenant, 2009
24” X 20” Oil on Canvas
There is some question as to whether those that return after being gone for a long time are here amongst us to do good or to harass and "mix things up" for the rest of us—and there is usually some skepticism about what kind of life they have previously led. There is no doubt about the kind of life that the painter Andrew Wyeth led, up until his death earlier this year (2009). His self portrait titled The Revenant was completed exactly 60 years ago.
Contact the Studio for more information or call 510.427.3594
The Resolve, 2009
24” X 34” Oil on Canvas
Aesop tells a tale of how some frogs were frightened by bounding hares suffering from their own timidity when running from an unknown or non-existent threat. The resolution was for the hares to realize that there are others who fear just as much as they do. They determined to be more aware of this so they would not be incompatible with the frogs in the future.
Contact the Studio for more information or call 510.427.3594
The Waiting, 2009
30” X 40” Oil on Canvas
This painting is based on a work by the contemporary Romanian artist Serban Savu. I replaced the urban humans with eleven bears who are waiting at the edge of the forest. They are standing at a kind of crossroads between the natural world and us, the viewer. I think this raises some questions for them and us. Perhaps we need the answers more than they do?
Contact the Studio for more information or call 510.427.3594
The Departure, 2009
18” X 24” Oil on Canvas
Embarking on a great journey is a point of discovery in itself. The emotions we feel at this time may be contradictory and confusing. We are sad, fearful and conflicted to leave those we are close to and at the same time we are excited at the prospect of experiencing new surroundings and adventures. So it is, exactly at that moment of departure, we find ourselves already in a new world and we know that regardless of what might happen, our journey is continuing and nothing will ever be quite the same again.
Contact the Studio for more information or call 510.427.3594
