Born: Newcastle Lives and works: Marple, Cheshire Education: Salford University Awards: People’s Choice Award (IN:SIGHT, 2015) As a little boy, Robert dreamed of becoming a zoo keeper. Today, the lions, tigers and elephants who roamed his imagination are given life in his dazzling paintings. Following a childhood spent roaming the forests of a North East coalmining village, his affinity with nature is evident in every instinctive paint drip and brushstroke. Immersing himself in pop surrealism, Robert presents viewers with what he calls “psychedelic natural history”. The passionate conservationist takes reference from wildlife magazines, books and photographs. Starting with a large brush and thin yellow paint, he blocks in the shape of the animal and marks out the eyes and mouth while the paint is still wet. He then applies contrasting colours and lets them drip.
He adds: “The more I can throw down and the more abstract the shapes are, the more enjoyable the battle is. I’ve heard that the abstract expressionist painter Jackson Pollock said that if he planned a painting, he’d never make a mark. My work depends on spontaneity and a free association: I don’t really need an inspiration, I just do it.” An animal-enthusiast, he has recently worked on projects with The Big Cat Sanctuary and the National K9 Memorial to raise money for animals in need. Robert says: “I love the freedom and brutality of nature, but I don’t like what we as humans are doing to it. My art is a way of exploring and exposing this.”
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