In Bob’s studio there is a small painting of a large-mouth bass jumping out of a pond somewhere in Ohio, where he grew up. It was painted by his dad, now deceased. The painting captured his father’s love—fishing—in an action-packed image that reflected his talent for observation and the experience of being right there. There is an influence here, subtle but easily recognized across the generations.

Growing up, Bob was always tinkering with pencil and paper, and occasionally ventured into a small oil set to copy the work of the Masters. His aspirations in the art world were diffused by his late teenage years, and totally sidetracked by two tours in Vietnam.

After military service he moved, sight unseen, to Phoenix, Arizona. Arriving late at night, Bob viewed his first saguaro cactus, majestically silhouetted by moonlight.

He attended Phoenix College and was fortunate to come upon an instructor, painter Merrill Mahaffey, who taught and impressed upon Bob the true meaning of being an artist and what the calling of the West was really about.

Kanab Point,Grand Canyon

Whitmore Canyon, overlooking the
Colorado River in Grand Canyon National Park.

He secured a teaching credential at ASU, then went on to CSU Sacramento for an MA, and followed with an MFA at UC Santa Barbara. By then, Bob had become disillusioned with the educational system. Perhaps it was too much of a good thing. In that era, representational imagery was not in vogue and the teaching of the fundamentals not stressed. The emphasis on the abstract and ephemeral avant-garde somehow didn’t seem to fit with his love of the outdoors or the simple complexity of nature. He longed to just walk out in a field and make a painting.

There followed a long hiatus from painting. He worked in sign shops and a computer agency; as a facilities manager, professional art installer, and bartender; briefly flirted with teaching; worked for art and natural history museums; and developed considerable skills in carpentry and fine furniture building.

Bob stayed in Santa Barbara, sailed his boat—the ‘Limner’—along the California coast and to the Channel Islands, but the desert continued to call, and he began to spend more time camping, backpacking, and canoeing. During his wanderings, Bob began to sketch, then paint, visually representing two decades of travel and adventure. It was liberating and fulfilling, while integrating his interests, life, and art. He now takes frequent painting trips to the varied deserts of the West.

Bob’s art, like that of his father's, is based on observation and experience. Seeking out the road less traveled, Bob now can share with others the wonderful, seldom visited lands of his American West.

Cedar Mesa, Utah

His work has been exhibited in several exhibits and one-man shows in Santa Barbara. He has been a guest artist in Santa Barbara's famed Oak Group of plein aire artists. His paintings of the interior canyons of the Green River in Utah and of Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Desertwere chosen to be in the Top 200 in the Arts for the Parks annual competition, and were shown in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Cougar Mountain was selected to be in the Zion National Park Centennial Exhibition in St. George, Utah. His paintings are in several distinguished collections.