ROBERT BROWN

Robert Brown began his professional career as an artist in 1979, after a business career of more than twenty years. Born in California in 1935, he attended college at the University of Arizona and then relocated to Southern California where he began working as a production manager for a large aluminum manufacturer in Los Angeles. Eventually he rediscovered his need for a creative outlet and began writing and illustrating magazine articles about conservation issues and the outdoors. Many of these articles appeared in national magazines during the late 1970's and 1980's.

In the spring of 1979 Brown abandoned big-city life in favor of a quieter, more relaxed existence in the Pacific Northwest.  Living along the rivers and coast of Oregon and Washington,  he continues to paint full-time as well as pursuing his outdoor interests.

An avid fly fisherman and frequent hiker, Brown finds many of the subjects for his work are as varied as his interests; anglers in search of fish, Great Blue Herons and Snowy Egrets hunting in the stillness of a marsh or at river's edge, or the newness of spring flowers.

Although some of his paintings reflect a companionship enjoyed in the outdoors, more often than not they will suggest the solitude he often seeks and enjoys. Many of his paintings reveal a contemplative mood; quiet, sometimes ethereal. "I don't profess any fixed method of painting, especially since I feel that my own work is evolving daily, painting by painting, mood by mood. I feel that the more I can paint those things I truly care about, the better chance I have to connect with people who see my work, hopefully evoking in them a feeling or memory to which they have a positive response."

Brown is often sought after as a workshop instructor and juror, and occasionally he chooses to perform these functions. He has been a member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon since 1986. His work has appeared in numerous shows and he has held more than a dozen one-man shows in Oregon and California.

Dispensing with detail, Brown's work of Traditional American art embodies the essence of an impression. "I often work with a limited palette, paying close attention to the use of large divisions of space, design, value control, and pattern to communicate my feelings."