L.Robert

When people ask him if he is a painter, sculptor, illustrator, designer, writer or mentor, L. Robert Stanfield answers; “Yes!”

 “Artistically, I don’t fit in any one ‘box,’” he explains. “If it’s a creative process, I’m interested in it.”

 As a child, L. Robert felt the siren song of creativity and made a vital decision to follow the call, finding the courage to move forward without demanding that others understand. "My mission is to Awaken, Nurture and Empower the Creative Spirit in others.

The use of the colors and textures of iconic artists like Vincent Van Gogh might have inspired him, but L. Robert continues to break fresh ground, working with materials that are at once unexpected and yet harmonious within his art.

During his formal training at the Savannah College of Art and Design in the 1980s, he studied materials and techniques across a wide range of disciplines and then returned to his studio to merge them into what is commonly known as “mixed media” art. Developed over the past three decades, his body of work has been described as “autobiographical” and “having a language of its own.”

“Sea of Dreams” — his current show at the Karis Art Gallery on Hilton Head Island, running through November 2018 — is a multifaceted representation of a layering technique that L. Robert has developed over the course of his career, including wall hangings, paintings, textured pieces, and functional art in the form of tabletops. Using blue as his primary color and music as a working inspiration, L. Robert instills a symphonic and oceanic essence in the work.

The Karis Art Gallery show features the title piece, “Sea of Dreams,” a table L. Robert created using his layering technique. He explains: “This technique gives three-dimensional depth to color, inspired by van Gogh’s use of thick paint. Using shimmering metallics and a clear gloss finish results in diverting and reflecting the light, leaving a ‘wet’ look to the surface of the work.”

Art speaks to the viewer as words cannot, in shapes and color. In virtually all of his work, L. Robert incorporates his trademark: a sphere, typically red, that symbolizes the self — both the artist and the viewer.

ARTIST