Original Oil Painting of a Nude by Contemporary Artist, Bob Browne

BIO: Bob Browne was born in Norfolk, VA in 1926, within a stone's throw of the Elizabeth River, close to the Chesapeake Bay and the long sandy beaches of the Atlantic Ocean. The availability of such rich, inspiring resources nearby developed his ardent interest in Tidewater and Eastern Shore scenes, and they are a constant underlying theme for many of his paintings. His interest in drawing the human figure started at a very early age, attending his first life class at the age of twelve. After serving in the Army in World War II, he settled in Baltimore, graduating from Maryland Institute of art in 1952. He was greatly influenced by his instructor, Jacques Maroger, past president of restoration at the Louvre. He then attended the Schuler School of Art. His home is a hundred year old farmhouse in Maryland. The studio with its large northern skylight and heat supplied by a pot-bellied stove is on the same property. Every morning, before he begins his painting, he grinds his powdered pigment in black oil, then mixes it with Flemish medium, both of which he has prepared himself. Though time consuming, he feels that it is well worth the effort because of the resulting richness and luminosity it gives its colors. He also prepares his own canvasses and panels. During the summer months, he and his wife, Joan, enjoy exploring the Bay and its tributaries in their sailboat, searching for treasures and subjects to paint. He also runs a life class, giving him an excellent source of models for the female nude studies that he does so well. The artist has been honored to have his works exhibited in numerous museums, some of which are the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Norfolk Museum, Peale Museum and the Mariner's Museum. For a number of years he did courtroom sketching for Channel 2 in Baltimore. Three of Browne's nudes were part of the famous Haussner collection in Baltimore. One of his seascapes hangs in the office of Baltimore's new mayor. Bob Browne is a dedicate artist, and feels that craftsmanship is nearly a lost art, so it is important to him to paint with sufficient knowledge and skill subjects that appeal to him that others may see and enjoy what has given him pleasure.

Item ID: 1140