In the studio with artist, photographer and instructor Robert Louis Caldwell

Happy Holidays! I would like to wish everyone the very best this holiday season! "Chickadee in a Bradford Pear Tree (Black-capped Chickadee) " Graphite pencil on 300# Arches watercolor paper, 5 x 9 Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree.  In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.  ~Larry Wilde, The Merry Book of Christmas Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year! * * * Watch the drawing come to life in the time-lapse video!   

2012 Holiday drawing coming out tomorrow, 12/19/2012! I had to take a break from my Africa sketchbook/journal excerpts to get caught up in the studio with a few holiday commissions and of course my 2012 Holiday Drawing which I just finished. Once again it is a small song bird perched on something that reminds me of the holidays. I broke away from the Snowman theme this year and went with something different. I plan on sending out my 2012 Studio Holiday Greetings email tomorrow morning, I hope you enjoy it. Until then I thought it would be nice to look back at the previous years holiday drawings.  2011 Holiday Drawing "Buttons (Carolina Wren) " Graphite pencil on watercolor paper 5 x 8  2010 Holiday Drawing   "Snow woman (Cardinal) " Graphite pencil on watercolor paper 6 x 8  2009 Holiday Drawing   "Bulbs (House Finch) " Graphite pencil on watercol...

What, where and when... RL Caldwell Studio Newsletter Fall 2012 My studio newsletter went out this morning to inboxes everywhere and in cased you haven't signed up for my studio newsletter yet, then you can see it by clicking on the link below. This issue covers my exhibition in Dallas and my travels to Africa as well as the up coming events this winter and spring. I hope you enjoy it! RL Caldwell Studio Fall 2012 Newsletter      

My adventure in Africa 2012 Excerpts from my field sketchbook/journal     Day 4 (Day 3 in Tarangire) "5:16am -- Heard a Lion roar last night around 2:30am --- NOT too far from my tent?" Day four started off very early although I don't think I ever fell completely back to sleep after being awoken at 2:30 in the morning of  a loud running sound accompanied with very dramatic rustling and ending with the roar of what I believed to be a lion.  A fast field sketch of a Crowned Lapwing (Plover). Drawn in Africa, Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa We explored the west side of the Silale swamp in the morning looking for Leapoards, Lions and Cheetahs, sadly we did not see any but saw plenty of other wildlife. We stopped mid morning at the Silale Pinic area for a pinic breakfast which was great but the landscape was just incredible. After breakfast we did another slow game drive back to Kikoti camp where we had lunch, some much needed down time...

My adventure in Africa 2012 Excerpts from my field sketchbook/journal The amazing sky and open Silale Swamp Day3 "6:02 am -- I am trying to find the words to describe what I have awoken too... I should have known that it was morning even before I opened my eyes because of all the birds singing. There was a slight haze that is burning off very fast and from the porch of my tent I can see out across the African Savannah  The sun is just starting to come up & hit the under belly of the clouds --- Beautiful! Two Go-Away-Birds just flew by..." "I haven't even been here a day and I am already realizing how much I am going to miss this." That is from the entry of my first morning waking up in the bush, arriving late the night prior I had no idea what the camp or surrounding area looked like and was happily surprised to find myself in this  Eden . Field sketch of a male Impala. Drawn while in Africa "9:23 pm -- WHAT A DAY! Saw so many d...

My adventure in Africa 2012! Excerpts from my field sketchbook/journal. Day1 As soon as I stepped of the plane and onto the tarmac I could smell the difference... Arrived in Kilimanjaro airport in the middle of a thunderstorm, I have to tell you that I wasn't expecting that at all. A very small airport it didn't take very long to pick up my luggage and make my way out to the lobby where my guide and owner of OEA Safari Humphrey was waiting for me. Humphrey drove me through the pouring rain down in a complete blacked out landscape through the out skirts of Arusha where we ended up at his and his lovely wife's guest house. After some light snacks and a couple of glasses of a great South African Piontage I went to the guest house and called "it quits as I listen to the rain beat down in Africa... IN AFRICA!!!" Day 2 "Woke to the sound of pounding rain - Awesome!"  After a fantastic breakfast of fresh fruit, eggs and bacon and I have to tel...

Four new pieces arrive at Berkley Gallery... Last week I dropped off four new pieces to Berkley Gallery in Historic Old Town Warrenton, Virginia. "Serendipity (African Elephant),”   "Striped Horse (Zebra),”   "North Pond on Pea Island (White Ibis),” and “Longhorn” are all now hanging on the walls in the gallery. Berkley has been representing me for roughly five years now and it is very nice to have an east coast gallery within driving distance! I hope you have an opportunity to visit the gallery to see my new work. "Serendipity (African Elephant)" Graphite pencil on watercolor paper 7 x 10   "Striped Horse (Zebra)" Graphite Pencil on Arches #300 watercolor paper 6 x 10   "North pond on Pea Island (White Ibis)" Oil on board 12 x 22 "Longhorn" Graphite pencil on watercolor paper 7 x 11 I am also happy to announce an upcoming show in April 2013 that I will be part of at Berkley Gallery where ...

A yearlong exhibition at Rockwood Nature Center October 1, 2012 - September 30, 2013     Robert has the honor of having his work on exhibit at the Rockwood Nature Center in Chesterfield, Virginia, for the next year. Several of his wildlife paintings and drawings can be seen throughout the nature center along with exhibits of live animals from the surrounding area. Robert is very excited about this opportunity to exhibit his work so close to home and looks forward to sharing his passion of wildlife through his paintings and drawings with the visitors of the Rockwood Nature Center. Rockwood Nature Center “ Rockwood Nature Center is dedicated to educating children and adults about our environment,” says Robert Smet, the center’s director. “Art plays a critical r...

Robert Louis Caldwell cordially invites you to... Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit 2012 Ohio Valley Art League Henderson Fine Arts Center Henderson, Kentucky October 13 - November 26, 2012 "Ginter Mausoleum (Mourning Dove)" Oil on board 16 x 8 Robert's painting " Ginter Mausoleum (Morning Dove) " will be one of 81 works on exhibit during the 2012 Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit held at the Henderson Fine Arts Center in Henderson, Kentucky. The Ohio Valley Art League (OVAL) was founded in September 1991 to promote the visual arts in Henderson, Kentucky and the Tri-State. OVAL organized the first Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit in 1994 with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources as the co-sponsor. This biennial exhibit attracts top wildlife artists from across the nation and is now considered one of the top wildlife exhibitions in the nation. " Ginter Mausoleum (Morning Dove) " is...

Wow!!! Below is a review on Lovetts Gallery's blog about my recent painting that I shipped to them late last week, I am speechless! A Little Rusty Robert Louis Caldwell doesn’t paint anything he hasn’t seen in person. “Every time he's been to the gallery, he goes out taking reference photos,” says Jack. In fact, he’s been saving for a trip to Africa . “Robert has been raising funds to take his trip to Tanzania in four or five weeks. He was hoping he would be able to raise enough funds to go for 14 days,” says Jack. “He had to shorten his trip. He’s never been to Africa. That’s a monumental trip for any wildlife artist. He was so committed to going that he shortened his trip so he could go no matter what. “When he returns, he’ll be working primarily on African safari paintings, because, again, he’ll only paint what he’s seen in person.” Until then, however, he’s working on more local subjects. On a trip to Lovetts Gallery in 2010, he photographed a counte...

Playing catch up! I have finished several new pieces over the last few weeks in preparation for the exhibition that I was part of at the Irving Arts Center in Irving Texas a week ago. Presenting... "Longhorn" Graphite pencil on watercolor paper 7 x 11 "Bobwhite (Northern Bobwhite)" Oil on 1/2"maple panel 20 x 16 "Baboon Skull" Graphite Pencil on Arches 300# watercolor paper 4 x 6 "Grey Fox" Graphite Pencil on Arches 300# watercolor paper 4 x 6   

Deadline extended!  10.15.2012  "Striped Horse (Zebra)"  Graphite pencil on Arches 300# watercolor paper  6 x 10  Every day brings my departure to Africa closer... I would like to thank everyone for their enthusiasm about my trip to Tanzania . Your emails of encouragement, suggestions of what to bring, and phone calls reminding me that I don't need to be able to run fast, just faster than everyone else have been greatly appreciated! My Advance purchase agreement of an original from my African adventure has been greeted with so much interest that I have extended the deadline to October 15, 2012. I have also included in this special purchase three drawings of African subjects that I currently have in my studio which you can add to your collection now. These three drawings are "Serendipity (African Elephant)," "Striped Horse (Zebra)," and "Contemplation (Chimpanzee)." These three drawings fall under the Level 2 discoun...

I am very happy to announce that my painting "Ginter Mausoleum (Morning Dove)" has been selected as part of the 2012 Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit . Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit 2012 Ohio Valley Art League Henderson Fine Arts Center Henderson, Kentucky October 13 - November 26, 2012 “Ginter Mausoleum (Mourning Dove) ” Oil on board 16 x 8 My painting “Ginter Mausoleum (Morning Dove)” will be one of 81 works on exhibit during  the 2012 Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit held at the Henderson Fine Arts Center in Henderson, Kentucky. The Ohio Valley Art League (OVAL) was founded in September 1991 to promote the visual arts in Henderson, Kentucky and the Tri-State. OVAL organized the first Kentucky National Wildlife Art Exhibit in 1994 with the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources as the co-sponsor. This biennial exhibit attracts top wildlife artists from across the nation and is now considered one ...

Presenting... "Striped Horse  (Zebra) " "Striped Horse  (Zebra) " Graphite Pencil on Arches 300# watercolor paper 6 x 10 This drawing is the second one I created in preparation for my  Africa 2012  trip, the first one was  “Serendipity (African Elephant).”  I have been spending many hours studying the most likely animals that I will encounter and of course Zebras are among that list. As I get closer to my departure I am having apprehensions about my travels, for those of you who do not know I have a healthy fear of flying. As my anxiety rises I like to look back at quotes I have written down over the years and the one that helps me moving forward at this junction is one from Mark Twain. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain

Presenting... "Weighted (Carolina Wren) " "Weighted (Carolina Wren)" Oil on 1/2 Maple Panel 18 x 24 You may find yourself asking, “What is that bird perched on?”  This painting was inspired by my travels to Oklahoma, particularly my 2010 visit to Tulsa when a friend of mine took me out into the fields looking for pumpjacks. Ever since my first visit to Oklahoma I have wanted to somehow incorporate a pumpjack into a painting. Now you may be asking what is a pumpjack? A pumpjack is the overground drive for a reciprocating piston pump in an oil well. It is used to mechanically lift liquid out of the a well and is very common in oil rich areas like Oklahoma. The prime mover, commonly an electric motor, of the pumpjack runs a set of pulleys to the transmission which drives a pair of cranks, generally with counterweights on them to assist the motor in lifting the heavy string of rods. The cranks raise and lower one end of an I-beam which is free to move o...

Like a bad smell that just won't go away... WIP: "Weighted (Carolina Wren)" Detail image, Oil, 18 x 24 The current painting on my easel is the same one that has been off and on it since April. I don’t usually have a negative “emotional” response to my paintings but with this one I do.  Don’t get me wrong I love all the pieces I create and my favorite piece is always the one that I am currently working on. Normally when I look at a piece that I have created it conjures up a piece of music that I listened to frequently while working on the piece but more often than not it will bring the story back that I was listening to  when I see the painting or drawing. The painting in question is the painting that I started back in March and used as my demo piece at my gallery exhibit. Not many people know it but I was very sick while in Oklahoma this year and I did my best to hide it and move forward with the opening and demo. It’s funny how you will work extremely hard for ...

Presenting... “Serendipity (African Elephant) " Graphite pencil on watercolor paper 7 x 10 Fresh off the drafting table and inspired by my recent studies of African Elephants coupled with a few incidents of serendipity that have happened recently I present my newest drawing “Serendipity (African Elephant) .” You can see from my last posting, “60 gallons of water a day!” that I have been studying Elephants preparing myself for my upcoming trip to Africa and from the posting before that, “Serendipity and the 3 Princes,” I wrote about my recent encounters with serendipity. It was these two events that inspired me to draw my newest drawing and title it “Serendipity.” In my previous post, “Serendipity and the 3 Princes,” I wrote that I hope to find three young bull elephants while in Africa and compose a painting based on this story. Until then this drawing will have fill that desire. “Serendipity (African Elephant)” will be on exhibit at the upcoming group show with t...

Africa 2012 Journal/Sketchbook Entry: 7/19/2012 "The first animal on my list to study is the Elephant! This is one of my favorite mammals and it is such a magnificent animal." Africa 2012 sketchbook/journal entry 7/19/2012 In the hopes of being completely prepared for Africa I am working on studying a list of mammals and birds that I will most likely see while in Tarangire Park, Tanzania, Africa. Many of you may think that birds are my favorite animals and although they do hold a special interest to me alas they are not my favorite. Elephants, now that is a beautiful animal! They are the largest land mammal with males weighing up to 13,200 lbs standing 11’ tall and ears that can be 6.5’ x 5’, just incredible! They can drink up to 60 gallons of water a day, 26 gallons at once. They have an ambling walk and move from 3.7 miles per hour to 8 miles per hour and when charging up to 25 miles per hour, that is amazing. Stay out of their way! This is all incredible but I...

Africa Journal/Sketchbook entry;  7/25/2012 "Once again I have found another instance of serendipity while planning for my Africa trip -- A trip that almost didn't happen...” While planning and preparing for my Africa trip I have had several incidents of serendipity which led me today to looking up the word and also its origin. Serendipity means: An aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident; good fortune;  luck.”  There have been many incidents that have happened that led me to believe that I would not be going, in fact for about 3 weeks I had officially made the decision that I wasn't going. Thankfully I have had several moments of serendipity that have turned everything around. Serendipity simply means “happy accident” and was first noted by Horace Walpole (1717-1797) who said he formed the word from the Persian Fairy tale “ The Three Princes of Serendip ” The Princes of Serendip is the English version of an Italian version by Michele Tramezzi...