New Times, June 7, 2001
San Luis Obispo, CA
ARTS

"Canvassing Nature" by Glen Starkey

Robert Reynolds' new works solidify his place as nature's personal painter

After writing about the work of Robert Reynolds for the past several years, I'm actually running out of superlatives. How many times can I call him "a poet of light and shadow, a minstrel of color, an absolute master of technique"?

Reynolds is, of course, all those things, and his new collection of 20 paintings continues his reign as the king of representational artists. His paintings are simply breathtaking, culling the natural world to its essence. Work like his is exactly why Plato suggested throwing the poets out of the city: Idealized art makes nature look shabby in comparison, causing dissatisfaction with the real.

A recent article by Reynolds in Watercolor Magic (Spring 2001) reveals his deep reverence for the natural world and its continuing inspiration for him. In "My Journey Back to Nature," Reynolds chronicles his pilgrimage from young, experimental painter to struggling to find a voice to the fully confident master he's become:
"[In my early work] I knew something was missing, but I was unaware how to go about finding what "it" was. Many of my semi-abstract paintings from this periodÉactually won some impressive awards. My reaction was mixed, because although I was happy that my work was being recognized, it was at a time when I wasn't satisfied with what I was doing. My sense of being an artist was certainly not being fulfilled."

Reynolds wisely discerned that the world doesn't need another unfulfilled artist. The painter who grew up "wandering around the hills and along the Central Coast found he needed to return to his first love: the great out-of-doors.

"From the beginning, I had been inspired by the pristine outdoors and the abandoned, man-made structures that nature eventually recaptures. I soon found that as I studied and drew the beautiful and exciting forms that abound in nature, I was actually discovering my inner vision. [But] to render nature's spiritual essence, I had first to discover my own emotional connection to it." Sure, it sounds a little new-agey, a little namby-pamby, but Reynolds is serious about his association with the flora and fauna. Since his realization that natural environment is his first and best muse, Reynolds has returned again and again to the wild, wild world, spending countless hours doing field studies, allowing himself the meditative experience necessary to fully embrace his connection with the land, its stunning vistas and magic moments.

"More than anything, I've learned that by consciously attempting to paint subjects with a definite meaning or relationship to my own life experiences, my art gains a new richness and emotional dimension."

And the man gives back, too. Philanthropy is no stranger to Reynolds. The award-winning artist recently donated his image of the Morro Bay Estuary for a poster for the Morro Bay National Estuary Program. All the proceeds for the $35.00 signed print will help preserve the spot that has inspired Reynolds year after year. You can get one of his prints at the MBNEP office on the second level of Marina Square in Morro Bay. (Call 805-772-3834 to find out how to order prints by mail.)

But for now, I recommend heading to Johnson Gallery to see Reynolds's new work. Sure, if you're a fan of edgy art, you'll probably find his images somewhat pedestrian, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a more gifted, talented painter of nature.

In works such as "Sundowner," viewers can feel the warmth of a late Central Coast afternoon. We know this moment, its quiet stillness, its playful amber glow making the air appear as honey; In each of Reynolds' paintings, he manages to capture moments such as this, fleeting momentsÉbut real ones. Plato be damned, I say we let Reynolds stay.

Return to Reynold's Biography