A wooden gate off a redwood-lined road leads to a house perched on the bluff of the Russian River. Roxy and Doc, the Airedales, greet us in a hummingbird and flower filled yard. The river beyond is a light green and flows gently by. It is hard to imagine that in 1986 and 1995 this same river crept up over the deck and yard, and into Mary & Frank Robertson's home. This is the river whose character we have come to know better through the paintings of Mary Robertson.
In the early 1960s, Mary Robertson received a $500.00 art scholarship to the University of California-Los Angeles. She majored in art history and enrolled in painting and drawing classes, but ceased attending as her interest in the UCLA film school developed. "Girls weren't supposed to be artists, they were supposed to be teachers."
Though she did make one "art film," her future took a different course. Robertson moved to Venice, California and began her career as an art-world adjunct working for a commercial paint company. She named colors, developed an olive green she says no one ever bought, and traveled to distant and exotic places, "as far north as Modesto, or Fresno" to give Jet-Dri enamel demonstrations by "pouring paint into the whirly-gigs."
After moving to San Francisco, she worked as a graphic designer for a number of magazines. Throughout this period, Robertson continued to paint privately, mostly making self-portraits at home. At the urging of a friend, she enrolled in a ceramics class taught by Ron Nagle at the University of California-Berkeley. She describes Nagle as a wonderful teacher who not only instructed her, but encouraged her reentry to the fine art world. "Ron always said to hang with the heavies, and to get advice from the people you admire." That's just what she did.
Through this association, Robertson met Gordon Cook, who became an important figure in her development as a serious artist. In the past, her painting style had been experimental and varied. "I showed Gordon a lot of work; mostly big brushstrokes, Ab-Ex gloppy-style...I was just flailing." Cook encouraged her to paint one thing, to paint the way her hand wanted her to paint, and to accept the seriousness of her undertaking.
In 1978, the Robertsons moved to Guerneville where she worked part-time at the local newspaper, and painted on her days off. The solitude of the region allowed her a quiet calmness that she wanted to recreate in her paintings. "I'm not trying to make a photograph; I hope they capture more than what meets the eye." Her first show was at Glastonbury Gallery in 1982 and featured simply paintings of eggs in their cartons. Charles Campbell bought the first painting, and shortly thereafter became her sole representative.
Robertson's work bespeaks the solitude of a moment, but instead of freezing a specific action, her paintings possess a serenity that can be likened more to an eternal pause. A figure wading into the river, a beach umbrella, or a stack of innertubes marks a perpetual moment. In these, one notices the light primarily. Each piece suggests a specific atmospheric condition and a particular time of day. She has often been linked to the Luminist and Tonalist traditions as she shares their concerns for light and color directed movement.
Her other passion, the environment, has sometimes drawn her into disruptive fights to save trees and waterways. Her subjects which frequently included the river, trees, and beaches often reflect her feelings about these struggles. "The landscapes are usually dark and escapist, not sunny or cheerful like the bright contrasty beach and river scenes. Sometimes I just have to paint them (the trees)."
Otherwise, Robertson simply paints what she likes. She says objects are chosen for their colors, patterns, and compositional potential. Occasionally, they have spiritual meaning for her, other times she sees them simply as pleasurable objects. "You don't know a thing until you've drawn it."
Concerning exhibitions and deadlines, Robertson considers them with mixed feelings. As a deadline approaches, "it gets to be a job. Sometimes I have to drag myself kicking and screaming into the studio, at other times, it's pure pleasure." After the years of working for magazines, her main struggles with painting are against the pitfalls of being "too glib or slick," or against the urge to get too complicated. At these times, Robertson looks to the work of Thiebaud, O'Keefe, Eakins, Morandi, and Winslow Homer. Currently, she is appreciating the early work of Russell Chatham, and wistfully ponders, "If I could draw like Claus Oldenberg and paint like Russell Chatham..." Despite the hard work, "like Anne Lamott said, it's a vacation life, it's doing something that you love while living in a beautiful place."
Mary Robertson's upcoming exhibition will feature over twenty-five new paintings and work on paper. This show will focus on the hills, curves and trees of the local landscape as well as on the summer dams and warm beaches of the Russian River. Robertson also plans to include works from an ongoing series entitled "Yellow Trees," landscapes made from travels over the last 10-15 years.
In the early 1960s, Mary Robertson received a $500.00 art scholarship to the University of California-Los Angeles. She majored in art history and enrolled in painting and drawing classes, but ceased attending as her interest in the UCLA film school developed. "Girls weren't supposed to be artists, they were supposed to be teachers."
Though she did make one "art film," her future took a different course. Robertson moved to Venice, California and began her career as an art-world adjunct working for a commercial paint company. She named colors, developed an olive green she says no one ever bought, and traveled to distant and exotic places, "as far north as Modesto, or Fresno" to give Jet-Dri enamel demonstrations by "pouring paint into the whirly-gigs."
After moving to San Francisco, she worked as a graphic designer for a number of magazines. Throughout this period, Robertson continued to paint privately, mostly making self-portraits at home. At the urging of a friend, she enrolled in a ceramics class taught by Ron Nagle at the University of California-Berkeley. She describes Nagle as a wonderful teacher who not only instructed her, but encouraged her reentry to the fine art world. "Ron always said to hang with the heavies, and to get advice from the people you admire." That's just what she did.
Through this association, Robertson met Gordon Cook, who became an important figure in her development as a serious artist. In the past, her painting style had been experimental and varied. "I showed Gordon a lot of work; mostly big brushstrokes, Ab-Ex gloppy-style...I was just flailing." Cook encouraged her to paint one thing, to paint the way her hand wanted her to paint, and to accept the seriousness of her undertaking.
In 1978, the Robertsons moved to Guerneville where she worked part-time at the local newspaper, and painted on her days off. The solitude of the region allowed her a quiet calmness that she wanted to recreate in her paintings. "I'm not trying to make a photograph; I hope they capture more than what meets the eye." Her first show was at Glastonbury Gallery in 1982 and featured simply paintings of eggs in their cartons. Charles Campbell bought the first painting, and shortly thereafter became her sole representative.
Robertson's work bespeaks the solitude of a moment, but instead of freezing a specific action, her paintings possess a serenity that can be likened more to an eternal pause. A figure wading into the river, a beach umbrella, or a stack of innertubes marks a perpetual moment. In these, one notices the light primarily. Each piece suggests a specific atmospheric condition and a particular time of day. She has often been linked to the Luminist and Tonalist traditions as she shares their concerns for light and color directed movement.
Her other passion, the environment, has sometimes drawn her into disruptive fights to save trees and waterways. Her subjects which frequently included the river, trees, and beaches often reflect her feelings about these struggles. "The landscapes are usually dark and escapist, not sunny or cheerful like the bright contrasty beach and river scenes. Sometimes I just have to paint them (the trees)."
Otherwise, Robertson simply paints what she likes. She says objects are chosen for their colors, patterns, and compositional potential. Occasionally, they have spiritual meaning for her, other times she sees them simply as pleasurable objects. "You don't know a thing until you've drawn it."
Concerning exhibitions and deadlines, Robertson considers them with mixed feelings. As a deadline approaches, "it gets to be a job. Sometimes I have to drag myself kicking and screaming into the studio, at other times, it's pure pleasure." After the years of working for magazines, her main struggles with painting are against the pitfalls of being "too glib or slick," or against the urge to get too complicated. At these times, Robertson looks to the work of Thiebaud, O'Keefe, Eakins, Morandi, and Winslow Homer. Currently, she is appreciating the early work of Russell Chatham, and wistfully ponders, "If I could draw like Claus Oldenberg and paint like Russell Chatham..." Despite the hard work, "like Anne Lamott said, it's a vacation life, it's doing something that you love while living in a beautiful place."
Mary Robertson's upcoming exhibition will feature over twenty-five new paintings and work on paper. This show will focus on the hills, curves and trees of the local landscape as well as on the summer dams and warm beaches of the Russian River. Robertson also plans to include works from an ongoing series entitled "Yellow Trees," landscapes made from travels over the last 10-15 years.