From Robert's DPW Gallery Page:Dad, husband, artist, teacher, mountain biker, and singer of songs in the shower.
Robert's website - robertanke.com
Robert's Instagram - instagram.com/robertthomasanke/
Tell us a bit about how you first started painting.
I always took art classes in college in addition to my regular load just to stay sane. I started painting then.
Did you have any stops and starts in your painting career?
For sure. I’m always in the process of creating something, but the mediums I immerse myself in vary over the years. Painting is one of the things I always come back to though.
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| Dawn Over Diablo (click to view) Enter to win by clicking on the link at the top of the DPW home page announcing Robert's interview. |
What mediums and genres have you experimented with?
The ones that stick out as having really captured my interest for long enough to feel like I got past the novice stage would be painting, drawing, ceramics, video game map design, comic strips, mountain bike trail design, scratchboard, and ink block printing. I also really like the creative processes in cooking, and composing music.
Which ones have "stuck" and which ones have fallen away?
Painting, drawing and ceramics always stick. Anything related to computers falls away. As much as I love designing and composing with tech, it just taxes my body too much, the older I get.
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| Carquinez Strait (click to view) |
Who or what inspires you most?
I find artistic inspiration in a lot of places, but lately I find it in representational painters who use an economy of strokes. Asian ink brush work is the epitome of this style, but Western examples of that approach are where I currently draw inspiration. Hester Berry’s work and Mike Hernandez’ gouache stuff are two examples.
What does procrastination look like for you?
Screens. Love them and hate them. I try not to sit down in any comfortable chair with a screen until I’ve mtn biked or gone to the gym, cooked dinner, painted, and finished any chores for that day.
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| Water and Sky (click to view) |
What techniques work to ensure that you make time for your art?
Finish dinner and go straight to painting. Do not sit down, do not pass go, do not collect $200.
How do you generally arrive at ideas for your paintings?
I’m an avid mtn biker and the scenery lends itself to the landscapes I often paint. I take a lot of photos while riding.
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| Black Oak Valley (click to view) |
How do you keep art "fresh?" What techniques have helped you avoid burnout and keep your work vibrant and engaging?
Like most people, I would imagine, I only work in media I’m enjoying. But sometimes I have an additional, specific goal to improve in a particular medium, which can make it feel like work. In those cases, giving myself breaks by creating other things really helps.
What makes you happiest about your art?
The creative process: finishing a piece, starting all over, coming up with ideas, getting lost in the work and coming up for air sometime later. Love it.
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| Rothko Conversation (click to view) |
Thanks, Robert!
© 2019 Sophie Marine
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