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

So, my grand idea moving forward is to offer several new instructional classes a month, short classes that are only a few hours, and multi-day classes. Both of which I want to prerecord so I can offer them immediately to the students who took the live online class. I didn’t realize the tremendous learning curve there would be in learning how to use and edit Adobe Premiere, a video editing program. I started Wednesday of this past week and just finished the promo video (Saturday at 10:15 pm) for my live online class Painting Technique - Cloud Study I that I am offering on September 2, 2020. I also put together the preliminary lessons that will need to be completed before the day of the class. My brain hurts immensely and my back hurts from parking my rear end in a chair for days on end but I am happy with the results. And I feel like Neo from the movie Matrix when he downloaded to his brain how to fight in martial arts and he turns to Morpheus and says “I know Kung Fu!” Of course, after...

End of an era, the Midlothian Art Academy sign in the county dump Well, I guess the first post on this blog, in a long time, should be about why I am back here. It was not my intention to build an online art school platform; well, maybe that isn’t the complete truth. In 2016 I had initially thought about creating some online instructional content, but then I had the opportunity to open my art school studio. I started with a 1200 square foot space that I designed and constructed consisting of a teaching studio, a small personal studio, and an exhibition space. And it was going rather well, and in hindsight, I should have stayed in that spot. I had brought on other instructors, and we had multiple class offerings, so it made sense to expand. In September 2019, I moved the academy into the new building, two large teaching studios, an administration office, a waiting area with a library, my studio, my lead instructor’s studio, John Sims, and a framing/storage room. I would be lying if I di...

Opening this Saturday! “The Birds” Invitational Show Lovetts Gallery Tulsa, Oklahoma October 24, 2015 I cordially invite you to "The Birds" show at Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma on October 24, 2015! An exhibition of original works of birds, about birds and inspired by the Hitchcock classic (though not necessarily all of the above). I have created two new pieces specifically for this show and they are now avaiable excluisvely through Lovetts Gallery. New birds! " Ristle-tee, Rostle-tee, now,now,now (Raven) " Graphic Pencil on 1/2 in. Maple panel 26 x 16 $2,900.00    "The Generals (Rooster) " Oil on 1/2 in. Maple panel 26 x 16 $5,900.00 Lovetts Gallery www.lovettsgallery.com 918-664-4732 I humbly thank you for your continued support of my art and sincerely appreciate you allowing me to share this news with you! If you have any questions about either of the...

Birds in Art Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum Wausau, Wisconsin September 11 - November 29, 2015 "On Tap (White-crowned Sparrow) " Oil on 1/2 Maple board 36 x 24 It is with great honor that I cordially invite you to the prestigious Birds in Art Exhibition at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin. My painting "On Tap (White-crowned Sparrow) " is one of 102 pieces from artists around the world juried into the exhibition. For me personally, I consider this exhibition to be the bar that I set for myself and my work – it is the best of the best! I hope that you can join me in Wausau for the exhibition's opening on Saturday, September 12, 2015. You'll find me in the museum's gardens where I will be one of the "Artists in Action." I hope you can stop by and see the latest drawing that I am working on and see many other amazing artists at work, too. "On Tap (White-crow...

Weekend for Elephants Columbine Gallery Loveland, Colorado August 7-9, 2015 I would like to cordially invite you to the “Weekend for Elephants” Art show and Sale at Columbine Gallery in Loveland, Colorado opening this week on Friday August 7. I have several paintings and graphite drawings in the show, all of them represent African Wildlife and are from my trips to Tanzania in 2012 & 2013. I will be at the gallery during the show working on my latest drawing of an Elephant, I hope to see you there! This show represents a special group of nine highly acclaimed international artists, Artist Ambassadors Against Poaching , working to bring awareness to the ongoing poaching crisis in Africa since 2013. These nine artists have pledged themselves to helping African Wildlife Trust and its efforts in saving the African Elephant through their art and donations, speaking engagements, museum exhibitions and gallery sales. They work to spread the word about the harm ...

Opening this Saturday! “The Lollipop Guild” Invitational Miniatures Show Lovetts Gallery Tulsa, Oklahoma JUNE 20 - JULY 20, 2015 I cordially invite you to "The Lollipop Guild" show at Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 20, 2015! All art exhibited in this show will pull inspiration from the beloved classic “The Wizard of Oz.” I am excited to exhibit two pieces in the show that are small in size but big in inspiration. The Scarecrow. "Abstract Thought (Raven) " Graphic Pencil on 1/2 in. Maple panel 8 x 16 $1,500.00 This piece is one of two I created for the themed show “The Lollipop Guild” at Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Inspired by the classic movie “The Wizard of Oz,” I wanted to create a piece based on the Scarecrow character and would have never guessed how difficult it would be to find a scarecrow for my reference. I still hadn’t found my needed scarecrow as I headed out to Tulsa for my e...

NEW Painting! "Before and After (Zebras)" Oil on 1/2 in. Maple panel    16 x 12 Available through Lovetts Gallery Tulsa, Oklahoma 918.664.4732 The idea for this painting emerged one evening while I was sketching a zebra that I had spotted near the Silale swamp road in Tanzania, Africa. It was actually one of many zebra that I had seen that morning during a zebra “traffic jam.” The road next to Silale swamp runs pretty straight along the edge of the marsh, and the zebra were using the road as their route to a watering hole. As far as you could see, the zebra were nearly stacked one on top of another like dominoes, but they were kind enough to open a path so that we could drive through the herd. We slowly made our way to the head of the column as the zebra continued their journey, hardly paying us any attention at all. I seized the moment to capture reference photos from different vantage points and lighting angles but this particular scene, with the zeb...