Artist's Statement

My name is Robert Ellis Patterson, but my friends and family call me Bobby. People say that I am a romantic, and that I care too deeply about things. I suppose it is true. The things that I care most about are art, love, and my friends and family. I think there is nothing more important. I have been involved in the arts as long as I can remember. I have been painting for awhile, and I am excited to show my new work.

I have always admired the work of the New York School of abstract impressionists (Pollock, Dekooning, Motherwell, Kline, Rothko, and more) but I never knew how I could interpret such passionate American painters. One day I dripped some words, that were hard to say, upon a painting that I meant to destroy. It became a new direction for me, and has been the focus of my work ever since. I am interested in words, and in their abstract meaning. It is hard to say the truth, and sometimes hard to hear it. I try to tell the truth in my paintings, and yet let the paint tell its own story. I hope that the meaning of the work will come through without having to spell it out. I put all of my heart into the paintings, and feel deeply about all of them. Whether a song, a sonnet, a poem, or picture, they are all moments and memories that are captured on canvas. I hope that you will enjoy the work, and find the meaning of them in your own way.