Robert is a native Montanan. Both his mother and father grew up on family-homesteaded ranches in the Big Timber area. The land has always been Robert’s inspiration. He grew up sneaking away from school to go outside, draw the landscape and animals along the river bottom, and explore what might be around the next corner. Robert has been a professional painter and illustrator for 40 years, building his art career with a brush and pen. For twenty years Robert worked as an illustrator and watercolorist. During these years, Robert developed his skills in drawing with pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor washes. His subject matter was wildlife and the land. While attending Montana State University, his Life Drawing classes expanded Robert’s desire to seek out other subjects, and he began to explore still life, the human figure and abstract objects. Working for Russell Chatham from 1984-86, Robert added many different painting techniques to his artistic range.

Having been awarded the contract to produce all of the artwork for Yellowstone’s Lake Hotel renovation, Robert served as the Artist-In-Residence at the Lake Hotel in Yellowstone National Park from 1987-1992. In 2001, after many years as a watercolorist, Robert decided to add oil painting to his artistic repertoire in order to explore new territory and express his ideas on a larger scale.