About Robi
I'm a self-taught artist based in Vancouver, BC. My work has been exhibited in Canada and the United States. In 2009, I received a Downtown Eastside Arts Grant to create a series of superhero characters battling climate change. In 2004, I received an artist fellowship from the Earthwatch Institute to create artwork about the diversity of plants, animals, birds and insects that support salmon-bearing streams.
I was born in New Westminster, BC, in 1975, and have lived most of my life on the west coast. I have an honours degree in journalism with a minor in art history from Carleton University in Ottawa. In addition to my artistic career, I'm a professional writer and editor. My clients include scientists and policy-makers in the BC and federal governments, as well as the World Health Organization. (See Blue Lantern Communications for more.)
My art practice
The majority of my art practice deals with my passion for the ocean and my concerns about environmental crises, including pollution, climate change and over-fishing. The seven seas are vast, mysterious places filled with strange and wise creatures whose existence is in peril. Even though we humans have barely charted the depths of the oceans or seen who lives in the deeper strata, we are wreaking immeasurable destruction through pollution and archaic fishing practices. I work in acrylic on wood, paper and canvas. I use watercolour and ink for more intimate imaginings. I've also created and published an educational colouring book for kids about some of the more unusual fish along our coast.
The reference material for most of my paintings comes from a combination of my imagination, photos taken in the wilderness, books about various species (fauna and flora), and wandering through natural history museums. I have an arrangement with the new Beaty Museum of Biodiversity at the University of British Columbia to access and draw the specimens in the museum's collection as reference material for my artwork. In 2004, I was awarded an artist fellowship by the Earthwatch Institute, which allowed me to work as a field researcher in the Skagit River watershed in Washington State and create artwork about the biodiversity required to support wild salmon stocks. That same year, I spent time hiking and painting in Ontario's Algonquin Park. In 2002, I had the wonderful experience of spending time in the butterfly and moth specimen collection at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria. Under the supervision of Dr. Rob Canning, I was able to search through rows of cabinets to find specimens that caught my eye, and then draw and paint the little creatures, week after week.
When I'm not painting fish, I also love to make collages. I'm working away at a series of tiny collages made entirely of cut out images from postage stamps, as well as some larger collages that feature natural history images, maps, and advertising from the early to mid-1900s (check out the links to my artwork here). I create unique, handmade collage greeting cards which are available through my website and at many wonderful stores.
If you're in Vancouver, BC (Canada) and would like to see my work in person, I’m always up for studio visits. Just send me an email if you'd like to drop by to make sure I'll be there.
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Thanks for your interest in my work!
- Robi