ROBERT O’BRIEN

I have been painting in the watercolor medium for over forty-five years and was introduced to watercolor in high school. I continued my studies in art at the State University of New York at Buffalo and with some noted watercolorists including Tony Couch and Marshall Joyce NA AWS. One of my main objectives in watercolor painting is to create light through the use of shadow. In painting ordinary images, I find a fascinating interplay between the two. The transparency of the medium helps in bringing shadows alive while allowing the light to glow. My recent paintings have emphasized close focus features of a particular subject, at times, giving the piece an almost abstract quality, with great attention placed on composition and value. I’ve also been exploring portraiture and figurative works. One of my objectives is to transform mundane, everyday images into beautiful works of art.