Perkinsville, Vermont, USA
Award-winning, nationally exhibited Vermont artist Robert J. O'Brien has been painting in watercolor for over thirty years. Since moving to New England in 1977, he has focused his brushes on capturing the dynamic light splashing through the landscapes and architecture of the northeast United States. Robert was born in 1954 in Rochester, New York. His creative endeavors in watercolor led him to seek the tutelage of the likes of Tony Couch, James Whatford, and the late Marshall Joyce, A.W.S. Using his mastery of fluid and dry brush techniques as a starting point, Robert strives to capture the vanishing vignettes of rural pasts found again in nature. Since 1998 he has traveled yearly to Southern France to pursue the same quest in a uniquely different landscape with a dynamically different light. His work has been featured in Watercolor Magic (December 2007), Watercolor (Spring 2006), American Artist Watercolor Magazine (Spring 2003), and the Splash! The Best of Watercolor series (issues 9 and 10) as well as other regional publications and calendars including the 2008 Artists Calendar. Robert maintains memberships in various watercolor societies including the National Watercolor Society and the American Watercolor Society. "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." —Robert J. O'Brien Robert's recent awards include the 2008 Bradley C. Barnard Award at the 27th Adirondack National Exhibition of American Watercolors, the Silver Medal at the 2008 New England Watercolor Society’s Juried Winter Exhibition and the 2007 Watercolor West Award at the 87th National Watercolor Society Exhibition in Brea, California. His work can be found in private collections around the country but you can visit him right now online. His website robertjobrien.com features his full curriculum vitae and a large online gallery of his paintings, many of which are available as giclee prints. You can also purchase originals or prints through his representative galleries: Powers Gallery, Gallery at the Vault, and Fine Art Studio Online.
