Painting
Robert Koch decided to start painting again, after many years of doing no art at all. The first paintings were at least recognizable to the photos he was using. However, through time he began to stray farther and farther from the original. People started turning into animals. People and actions from various photos would combine. Colors, backgrounds, clothing, and locations started transforming. As he was painting, the subjects and compositions started depending less on what he was doing under his control and more on what shapes, patterns and colors were appearing in front of him.
All paintings are acrylic, often with lines of pastel, crayon and/or graphite. Robert is a graduate of the University of Washington, with a BA in Art and a minor in Asian Studies and a MA TESOL
He taught art in junior high and high school, and he taught English to international students – Japan & Pierce College, Lakewood, WA. He retired in 2016 and is currently living in Gold Beach, Oregon
Perhaps more than anything, what is important to me is the relationships and interactions between the humans and creatures in my paintings. My goal is not to be precise in representation, but to allow the viewers to decide for themselves what they are looking at, and hopefully to elicit a response of humor, curiosity or empathy. I strive for the line between abstract and “something there.”
Website: flickr.com/photos/rwkoch
