‘…you know the type…’
Not long ago, a new family moved to the area. They seemed like nice folks. I heard they came from Florida, somewhere near the water. Then, their son came to town. You know the type: long hair and loud music… keeps going on-and-on about how he will own a Trans-Am someday.
He had run-away when he was sixteen following an argument with his mother about; you guessed it, a guitar. I heard he wrecked his car, and that’s why he moved here. After his car wreck, he did what anyone does: he called his mom. And she told him, ‘come home, ’even though he had never lived here.
Once he moved here, it wasn’t surprising to see him in the principal’s office of Ridge Spring Monetta every other week. But the kid could draw. His teachers, and so noticed his aptitude for fine arts so he ended up “drawing his way through high school,” as he called it. His name was Robert Campbell. It still is.
‘…first class…’
The year was… not important. Let’s just say it was the pre-computer age. Robert graduated high school and studied accounting at the University of South Carolina Aiken. His advisor was an Art professor named Al Beyer; a man who Campbell credits with changing the trajectory of his life. Beyer’s passion for the arts convinced Campbell not to surrender the brush for the calculator which in those days was an actual thing, not an app.
Robert studied and focused his craft at Rose Hill and fed a passion for drawing wildlife that had existed in him since he first picked up a crayon. He became a member of the first class from USC Aiken to graduate via the Etherredge Center.
‘…AAZPA comes-a-knocking…’
Robert used the portfolio he had created in college to further his foray towards a career as a professional artist. He offered his works, for free, to nature conservatories. He thought it seemed like a fair deal: a conservation group gets to use his image; he gets his name out there, and the animals of the world can sleep a little better knowing that there is another human on their side. One day he heard from a little group called the American Association of Zoological Parks and Aquariums, and when the AAZPA comes-a-knocking, mister, you’ve hit the big time. I mean, it sounds like a big deal.
For Robert, it was a big deal. It led to a T-shirt deal. T-shirts led to screen printing. Screen printing led to business maneuvers which eventually took him all the way to Europe and back. Robert has worked with and/or for National Geographic, the Audubon Society, the National and the Bronx Zoo, the Smithsonian and the WWF.
The only thing more impressive than his resume is his catalog. His command of the brush stroke carries him away from modern trends of photorealism and puts him in an older camp of American Romanticism with a dark secret. His wildlife paintings combine the poetry of Robert Frost with the color of Monet’s Haystacks, while his monster collection incites the horror of Edgar Allan Poe with a nod to the shape and form in Van Gogh’s The Potato Eaters.
Robert Campbell is an amazing artist. He ups our artistic street cred as a city. We absolutely need to claim him as one of our own. We could make the first Monday in March ‘Robert Campbell Day,’ and we’d all take a day off of work. Maybe we could offer him the keys to the city… or at least a reserved parking space downtown. If we waste time and don’t act on this now, Florida might remember that he lived there once and try to take him back…you know how Florida is.
‘…tip-toeing through Facebook…’
After his jaunt around the old country, Robert was ready for the next phase of his career. Much to his chagrin, he was realizing that meant he would have to learn something the men of generation only embrace when they’re forced to: the dark arts: social media.
Robert admits, “I didn’t want to know what people were having for breakfast.” Which is a spin on the reason every tech challenged member of Robert’s generation offers when you ask them about the internet. And Robert knows this, so he is “waddling into Instagram and tiptoeing through Facebook.” And to his delight, he admits, that he just learned to hashtag.
‘…(yeah,) you know the type…’
And what’s next for Mr. Campbell? He’s still creating his art. He’s always continuing his legacy. And he’s the artist behind next year’s Spring Steeplechase Poster.
Not bad for the kid with long hair in the principal’s office. You know the type: the kid that had a rocky start, but followed his dreams, became a professional artist and now has two, yes, two 1971 Trans-Ams in his garage. His name is Robert Campbell. And he still likes to rock out on his bass guitar.
See mom, I told you it wasn’t a phase…
Who is Robert Campbell?
What was your first job?
I washed dishes at a Chinese restaurant.
What was your worst job?
Delivering pizza, I only lasted one night.
What’s something you deplore?
Dishonesty…liars.
When are you the happiest?
When I’m painting…or playing my bass.
What’s your favorite subject to paint?
Anything that holds my attention long enough. I like to paint people: portraits, celebrities, rock-stars and famous monsters…and rhinos.
Preferred medium?
Oils and Charcoal
What makes your work…your work?
I like painting shapes, not subjects. Whenever we look at an eye, we expect an eye and what we know to be an eye… for me it’s about accurately capturing those shapes with a brush stroke, not trying to replicate a photograph. I want people to know there’s brush stroke.
Any advice for up-and-coming artists?
You don’t have to be a starving artist. Look around. Everything has aesthetic value, from clothing to landscape design. You don’t have to ‘just paint.’
Favorite quote?
“Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.”
Henry Ford
What is your greatest challenge?
Getting out of my own way.
Matthew Wynn was born in Pennsylvania, grew up in Texas and attended college in Maine and Oregon. He has been an after-school director, a baker, a cook, and a tour-manager for his best friend’s punk rock band. The son of Alan Maclay (a proprietor of Cold Creek Nursery) and Phyllis Maclay (a noted Bella author), he is the oldest and most charming of his five siblings. Matthew is an awesome husband and is super modest. He enjoys the ironic, most things sarcastic, and at times, the sardonic. He is also a dog-person.
