| I grew up here in Roswell NM.
My grandfather (Dero Maples) built and grandmother (Sarah) lived in a small house next to this one in 1938. He built this larger (yep I said larger) house in 1944 where they were to live, but they got a divorce the judge awarded this, the new house to her.
They continued to live next to each other for the next 27 years.
Southwest Magazine Interview: He received a bachelor of fine arts degree from Louisiana Tech University in 1978 and pursued a career in graphic design. In 1989 he traveled to Helsinki, Finland where he spent four years. There he obtained an MBA degree from the Helsinki School of Economics. It was not until 1998 that he developed an interest in oil painting after having taken it up as a creative antidote to the structured advertising world where he was working as a designer and illustrator. He became further motivated to continue on this path of expression when he enrolled in painting classes at the Denver Art Students League.
The dimensions of his canvas are determined by the story needing to be told. Robert works mainly today with larger format pieces. "These large panels have a greater area from which to explore the creation of complex shapes." Robert explains that his art is not about any one approach but it is about developing as an artist by exploring various visual approaches. The discoveries he makes along the way are what fuel his desire to be an artist.
It is most important that I explain here, my current influences are NONE. By that I mean that the visual path I've developed has come from my accumulative knowledge and now that path before me is my own. | 