Bob has been a practicing artist for over 40 years, participating in juried national and regional shows, as well as numerous one person and invitational shows in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC. He enjoys the directness and process of easel painting, choosing images to paint as much for their formal qualities as their subject matter. A common element in his work is the exploration of the effects of light, particularly as it plays upon and through water or glass, and upon various surface textures.
Landscapes, especially with water, and their inhabitants are common subjects for Bob's paintings. He finds much to paint around his home in the scenic Tidewater Virginia area. He also takes a keen interest in our American culture, chronicling both its beauty and the detritus that he comes upon in his travels. His works can be categorized as falling into general themes that he explores in series, some continuing for decades.
He enjoys the process of creation, the production of an object that may bring satisfaction or a new perspective to its viewer, and sharing his work with others. These are his motivations to create. His art opens him up to those who see it, and he hopes that revelation is both a pleasurable and expanding one.
His work is in both acrylic and oil paint, although mostly acrylic of late.
Recent juried shows include Virginia Artists exhibitions at the Charles H. Taylor Arts Center in Hampton, Virginia; Radius 250 Biennials at Artspace @ Plant Zero in Richmond; Art Speaks on the Bay juried exhibitions in Mathews, Va; Strathmore Annuals in North Bethesda, Maryland; New Waves at the Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art in Virginia Beach; “Supersize” at the Annmarie Sculpture Gardens and Arts Center in Solomons, Maryland; and the Peninsula Fine Arts Center Biennial. He has artwork in Collection of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Sheltering Arms Institute Physical Rehabilitation Hospital, Richmond, VA; the City of Alexandria, VA;
Hampton Commission on the Arts, Hampton VA;Sentara Regional Medical Center, Williamsburg, VA; Bureau of Labor Statistics, Washington, DC; The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC; St. John's Episcopal School, Olney, MD; as well as many private collections.
Education:
M.F.A., Painting, the Catholic University of America, 1977
B.A., Studio Art, the University of Maryland, 1973
Website: bobcarlsonart.net Phone: 757.741.2438
Represented by: Stewart Gallery, Gloucester, VA; Art Speaks Gallery, Mathews, Va; Williamsburg Contemporary Arts Center, Williamsburg, Va.
