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

Seasons Greetings! "Classy Snow Lady (Mourning Dove) " Graphite Drawing, 5 x 8 Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful. ~Norman Vincent Peale Best wishes for a happy and prosperous New Year! ~Robert

Adventure in Tanzania, Africa 2013 Part 2 Encounter with a very large Bull Elephant Field sketch from Tarangire NP, Tanzania 2013 Halloween 2013 and I am out in the bush on a game drive, the west side of Silale Swamp in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. About mid morning we had made our way over to the area by Kuro Air strip, a small airport for what I call “puddle jumpers” to land at. Just as we were coming around a bend in the road that actually intersects with the road to the airstrip I saw the largest bull elephant I have seen to date and with what I considered to be huge tusks. Just a grand elephant! We of course stopped and got into position to watch and photograph this gentle giant. I guess when you are that large and older you earn the right to move slower, to go at your own pace, slowly pulling Acacia leaves off the tree that you are under and watching us with one eye as he goes about his business. He eventually walked out from under the tree and into the sunligh...

Adventure in Tanzania, Africa 2013 Part 2 Among a pride of nine Lions Field sketch from Tarangire NP, Tanzania 2013 I went to Tanzania with a goal, more really of a high hope, that I would get a chance to see big cats. I say this because when you go on safari  you need to be happy with whatever Africa will give you, even if its your 207th zebra.   Africa... Africa was very generous this last trip! On October 14, 2013, which was day 3 of my 2013 safari, we were on the east side of Silale Swamp on a park road that isn't heavily traveled. To be honest I wasn't expecting much from this drive because many of the previous trips down this particular road in 2012 didn't offer up much. But as I said previously… Africa was very generous this trip. We had eaten our bush breakfast on the side of the hill that leads down into Silale Swamp about 9:30 in the morning and were making our way south down the road to the bottom of the swamp to cross over and go back up the ...

Grasping color was as far as the distance of the moon. My first successful painting was in black and white. Recently I was interviewed by a writer from Southwest Art Magazine for an upcoming article in the February 2014 issue. During that interview I was asked several questions about the road of my becoming an artist which of course lead to my college years and my inability to paint. Towards the very end of my senior year I had finally created to what I consider to this date my first successful painting and that painting always hangs in my studio to remind me that every obstacle can be met, tackled and eventually with patience overturned. I majored in Communications Arts with a concentration in Illustration so all of my work from college revolves around illustrating stories. To this day I am not sure if I choose this particular book or if it was the professor but I illustrated the story  "The Distance of the Moon" by Italo Calvino which was in his book “Cosmicomics....

Adventure in Tanzania 2013! Part 1 Map Source Google Maps It has been two weeks now since my return from Tanzania and I am still processing  all that I saw, felt, touched and yes smelled. I took 15,964 photos while on safari this time and it will take me some time to go through all of them to organize and revisit the memories of the actual events. Such great moments from seeing hippos in Silale swamp, apparently this is the first time in 13 years, to a great big bull elephant , that we got extremely close to and our surprise visit to Ngorongoro Crater. Hippo in Silale swamp, Tarangire NP, Tanzania I had the privilege of spending 13 days in Tanzania with eight world class artists and what a great time it was to spend every moment with like minded individuals. We were up every morning at 5:00am, in the Land Cruisers at 5:45 and at the park gate promptly at 6:00 am when they opened. From there we went ALL day most of the time note returning back to camp until after dark...

The Thirty-Three Project is at it's end! The Thirty-Three conservation project is drawing towards the end as Robert prepares to travel to Tanzania. One of the first things Robert will be doing in Tanzania will be to present Pratik Patel the founder of Africa Wildlife Trust with a check from the money raised through this project to help AWT's anti-poaching efforts of Elephants in Tanzania. This is something that has been very close to Robert's heart and we thank everyone who has participated so far in helping to raise money for the African Elephant and to give Robert the chance to give it to someone who is directly involved in saving these majestic animals. The sale of the limited edition print and conservation DVD package will end at 12:00pm EST on Friday October 18, 2013. There are only five prints available!  "Thirty-Three (African Elephants)" and DVD Conservation package. $250 You may click on the link above to order your print ...

Way to much time has gone by since my last posting and much has happened since then,  too much to even try to write about.  So I'll share what I currently have on the easel and actually it is the first painting that I have worked on in almost 7 months. The drawing book kept me covered in Graphite dust since the beginning of the year. This is the latest painting in progress on the esael and it's of a Lilac-breasted Roller perched  in a Baobab tree. It is a commission from my africa trip in 2012, the collector asked for one bird and that was the LBR and me being a newbie at traveling to africa I was worried that I wouldn't see one. Apparently they are everywhere and after the first day I had enough refernece to probably paint several paintings. The composition has been completly drawn  in and the canvas is tonned ready for color that you can is mixed and ready to go in the foreground on the pallette.

Now that the drawings are finished the writing work officially begins on my instructional drawing book “Draw Realistic Animals; Wildlife, Pets & More” today. I believe I have written the first chapter of my book although it’s the third chapter that will be in the book. This chapter focuses on the drawing of fur as I look at short, mid and long haired animals and I am using my drawings “Keri (Cat)” for the short hair demo, “Brodie (Dog)” for the mid length hair demo and finally my drawing “Kutokua Na Hatia (Colobus Monkey)” for the long hair demo. I have probably written much more than is needed for each demo so hopefully my editor will be able to shorten it and make me sound good! Next chapter is for the birds!

Recently my family experienced a loss which has brought us to a screeching halt. Although the loss of my mother-in-law is a very personal one to myself and especially my wife, I believe that I owe her this brief passage of gratitude. My relationship with my mother-in-law was probably the typical one that a son-in-law has with his wife’s mother, a relationship of giving each other a hard time but also laughing with each other too. But it isn’t my personal relationship that I want to talk about, it was her support of my art. Although I  am sure that she questioned her daughter about marrying an artist, with that being such a solid career choice. My mother-in-law supported my efforts from day one, she became a catalyst for my career. She was always one of the first people to purchase a new print as well as adding a few originals to her collection. Yes I know a family member buying your art isn't the same as a stranger buying a piece but when you walk through the halls of her house...

“Birds in Art 2013” Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum Wausau, Wisconsin September 7–November 10, 2013 "Custodian (Ruppell’s Vulture)" Graphite Pencil on Arches #300 watercolor paper 10 x 17 Robert is extremely honored to announce that his drawing “ Custodian (Ruppell’s Vulture) " has been selected to appear at the prestigious Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum’s “ Birds in Art ” 2013 exhibition. The exhibit will run from September 7–November 10, 2013, at Wausau, Wisconsin, museum. Organized annually since 1976 by the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum , “ Birds in Art ” presents the very best contemporary artistic interpretations of birds and related subject matter. Each year, a jury selects approximately 100 works to take part in the exhibit. This year, 605 artists from around the world submitted 974 pieces of art. Robert is one of 94 juried artists selected for the exhibit; the show will al...

I am very honored to announce that my new drawing “ Kutokua Na Hatia (Colobus Monkey) ” has been selected for the prestigious Society of Animal Artists exhibition, Art and the Animal . “Art and the Animal” 53rd Annual Exhibition of the Society of Animal Artists Bennington Center for the Arts Bennington, Vermont August 31 - October 31, 2013 “ Kutokua Na Hatia (Colobus Monkey) ” Graphite Pencil on Arches #300 watercolor paper 15 x 6 Robert’s drawing “ Kutokua Na Hatia (Colobus Monkey) ” has been selected to appear at the Society of Animal Artists exhibition “ Art and the Animal ,” August 31 through October 31, 2013, at the Bennington Center for the Arts in Bennington, Vermont. This is the society’s 53rd annual exhibition of the world’s best wildlife artists. The jury this year had the overwhelming task of selecting from 374 submissions by 234 artists. The Bennington Center for the Arts brings world-class fine art, history and theatre to the re...

"Margin (Lioness)" travels to Bennington, Vermont Art of the Animal Kingdom XVIII Bennington Center for the Arts Bennington, Vermont June 15 - August 25, 2013 "Margin (Lioness)" Graphite Pencil on Arches #300 watercolor paper 5 x 19 Robert's drawing "Margin (Lioness)" has been selected to appear at the 2013 Art of the Animal Kingdom exhibitions, June 15 through August 25, 2013, in Bennington, Vermont. The Bennington Center for the Arts brings world-class fine art, history and theatre to the residents and visitors of Southwestern Vermont. The center's permanent art collection, sales exhibitions, live theatre and exhibits within the Covered Bridge Museum are available throughout the year. Considered one of the most prestigious wildlife exhibitions in the country, this year's Art of the Animal Kingdom features 65 pieces of art. Carel Brest van Kempen is this year's special guest artist and juror of the exhibi...

A conservation project in the making... Over the last two weeks I have been working with a producer to create a unique video for a project that I hope will raise $1650 for African Wildlife Trust to help in the anti-poaching campaign for elephants. Below is our "test" video of my current piece on the drawing board, "Three Camels." We still have some issues to resolve especially a consistent light source which means I will probably have to block my window for the duration of this project but it for a good cause. This project will raise $1650  through  the sale of a special Conservation Limited Edition print and DVD package that my producer and myself are collaborating on. I will have more details coming out in the next two-three weeks but to give you a bit of the idea behind this, there will be only 33 prints. Through this campaign I personally hope to raise $1650 and then have a call to action that will raise an additional...

November 7, 2012 Two lions spotted at Silale Tarangire National Park, Tanzania, Africa Field Sketch Another field sketch drawn while in Africa, I delivered this to one of my collectors just a few weeks ago. I drew this little sketch back in my tent the night after we had the fortune of seeing two female lions on the edge of Silale swamp which doesn't look like a swamp. This sketch was the "warm up" for my drawing "Margin (Lion)" (I'll post about this drawing later). The collector who received this was extremely gracious enough to lend me his very nice camera body for my adventure in Africa, I asked him what I could give him in return and he said a lion. Well I of course couldn't bring a lion home but I could create a sketch of what I saw, two magnificent lions in the tall grasses of Africa. My collector was pleasantly surprised and asked if he could lend me his camera for my next adventure.

To a friend who loves cats! I had the honor and privilege last night to have dinner with a collector of my art who is also a very dear friend and present her with this field sketch from Africa. She was caught completely off guard because she had no idea that she was getting the sketch. I thought it was the least I could do since she has supported me over these many years not just with adding a few of my pieces to her collection but by telling me again and again that my work was good enough even when I thought different. This sketch was drawn in my tent the second night after I had the great fortune to have seen two female lions just on the rim of Silale swamp  which doesn't really look like a swamp. After another great day of game drives, a fantastic sunset by the fire pit with a glass of wine at Kikoti Camp and a superb dinner I went back to my tent to do a little sketching. The funny part about this little story was that I was awoken early in the morning, 4:30am, by a very...

Commission wanted! I just received word from my editor that they are looking for one more drawing for my book titled “Draw Realistic Animals; Wildlife, Pets & More.” This book is being released in June 2014 and each drawing will be demonstrated in the book step by step. What I am I looking for is a portrait type piece to draw of a Dog with medium to long hair. If you in the Richmond, Virginia area we can do a quick photo shoot with your dog, if you do not live in the Richmond area then a very good reference photo will be required. The image will need to be clear and have very good lighting, it must have shadows. The drawing will be roughly around 6 x 9 on Arches 300# watercolor paper as all of my drawings are with the same level of finish as you seen in my other work. I will give a 10% discount from my commission price of the drawing as well as your drawing being featured in the book as a demo. If you are interested in having a commission of your dog created, having that draw...

I apologize for not posting in awhile but I have been working long hours in the studio on an up coming book project. Here is a work in progress image of the current drawing on my drafting table, a Red-headed Agama Lizard. More Soon....

A Collector's sketch... "Zebras at Kikoti Watering Hole" Graphite Pencil on Arches 300# Watercolor paper 4 x 6 This is one of the sketches that I did while I was in Africa for a collector who commissioned a painting from me on my return. Each collector who commissioned a painting or drawing based on my adventure receives a sketch that was drawn while I was in Africa. As the title suggests these are Zebra's that I had the fortune of seeing just outside of Kikoti camp at the watering hole. As we came out of camp in the Land Cruiser we saw flashes of black & white over by the watering hole and stopped to see what we could see. In the hour that we stayed there we must have witnessed over 300 Zebras come and go from this watering hole, just amazing!