Artist To Watch: Rob Reeves
Uploaded By: Michelle_Holley
originally appeared on KCCI.com in March 2010
See the original post here
Can you tell us a bit about your background
and where this whole crazy art train got started?
Like a lot of kids I spent Sunday mornings in church doodling. I remember
drawing what I insisted to my grandmother was a polar bear. It looked
like something with four arguable appendages being cartoon-electrified.
Not really polar bear-ish. That's my first memory of Art so I'm going to
say that's where it started. Then there were comic books and Art classes
in school. You just kind of know that you're always going to do
that. I got some great encouragement from my family and friends and was
lucky enough to have had some brilliant teachers. I'm grateful for
that.
What is your muse, only one please!
If I have to pick one... hrmmmm, I'm going with Literature. I wanted to paint the way I saw an author's descriptions in my head.
Where does your subject matter come from, and what gives you the inspiration to create the way you do?
I looked a lot to literature when I started drawing. I spent a lot of time with mythology of all sorts. Aside from comics classical mythology was nearly all I read until high school. Throw in a good dose of Biblical imagery from a Baptist upbringing and some classic Sci-Fi and you've got quite a mix. Then during my Junior year in college I started looking at architecture and it really hooked me. I loved looking at the way the light played on the buildings, people, and cars... it was like I was seeing things for the first time.
Tell us
some more about the theme behind 'The Places Where They Intersect', opening
Friday, March 5 at The Lift.
I've always felt like I had two distinctive sides to my work. I've
wanted to find a middle ground between the two. On one hand I paint
buildings and streets. I work mainly from photos I take myself.
They're somewhat orderly and rooted more or less in reality. Then I paint
these other pieces because I've got these pictures bouncing around in my
head. They're snippets from dreams and stories.
I'm starting to see how they fit together for me. For that story you'll
have to ask me in person tomorrow. I go on enough as it is on my blog.
What is your favorite 80's hair band of all time?
I can honestly say I don't have one. I thought they were funny as hell though. I guess I could say I got a lot of laughs out of all of them. The theatrics were hilarious. The hair... the makeup. I never really appreciated the camp until after it was over.
If you could study under one artist who would it be and why?
I know I'm copping out on this one... I can't even begin to answer that. There are so many things I want to learn. Catch me tomorrow and we'll discuss it over a pint.
I know that you teach a drawing class at the Des Moines Social Club on Wednesday nights. Is it hard to teach something that comes so naturally to you?
I don't really think about it like that. I think drawing is a learned skill. It's the drive to do something with it that makes you an artist. I really enjoy teaching. It's been a return to basics for me. I think a foundation in the basics is invaluable. It's been a great experience.
I also have heard it through the grapevine that you are working with some corporations in town to create installs and artwork for their new spaces. Any chance you want to spill the beans on that?
I will say that I'm involved in the project to select art for my day-job employer, Aviva. Is that considered a bean spilled?
Perhaps...but we won't tell. Tweedle Dee or Tweedle Dum?
Tweedle Dam?
I'll go with Tweedle Dee. I think I prefer the sound of it.
You recently acquired some studio space at Northland Studios in the East Village. Can you tell me a little bit more about the project and what the future plans of the space are?
First of all I've really been enjoying my space there. It's a very
active building and I enjoy the energy. It's a bit of a departure from my
very quiet basement. I like a space with energy. I did some murals
in a few night clubs after college and I loved having the music and activity
while I worked. It's also nice to have some quiet time. I get both
there depending upon when I work. It's a living space.
The project as a whole is coming along nicely. There's a lot of
construction going on at the moment and it's exciting to see it
developing. We're picking up other artists for the remaining
spaces. The majority of the main room will become a very large gallery
space capable of housing a large amount of work, live music, and some
hellacious events. I'm very excited about the group we've got moving
in. It's nice to be in a town where there so many motivated people.
And what is next on the horizon for Mr. Robert Reeves? Any new shows or events coming up?
This year is shaping up to be very busy for me. I've got solo and
group shows lined up more or less through December. I'm looking forward
to the intensity that is to come. I don't typically have a large volume
of work due to the amount of time I typically have available to me. On
the other hand having a studio outside the home seems to have helped with my
ability to concentrate and as a result, paint. I seem to be able to
produce more. Funny what a change in routine will do.
My next show will be at RAYGUN in May.
One last fun one...if you could live anywhere in the world for 37 days, where would you go?
37days? That's oddly specific.
Florence, Italy. Last time I only got 2 days.
How can your loving admirers get into contact with you and stalk you?
website: www.robreevesstudio.com
twitter: @robreevesstudio
facebook: www.facebook.com/RobReevesStudio
GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural
Features Local Artist Rob Reeves
06/02/2009 DES MOINES, Iowa
Join GuideOne
Insurance and the Des Moines Art Center to help create a new billboard-sized
interactive mural at the Des Moines Arts Festival featuring a Des Moines skyline
painted by local artist Rob Reeves! On June 26-28, 2009, in downtown Des
Moines’ Western Gateway Park, thousands of guests can contribute their personal
touch to recreating this unique view of Des Moines on our biggest canvas yet,
50-feet by 20-feet! This unique interactive arts activity will take place at
the GuideOne Insurance Interactive Mural tent off 13th St. next to the
University of Iowa John and Mary Pappajohn Education Center.
DSM Lights (shown above) was created by Reeves specifically for the Festival’s
mural project.
“I'm extremely excited to be a part of this project,” Reeves said. “Although
I've never entered into the Des Moines Art Festival I've enjoyed the wondrous
variety of art and people it brings out. I volunteered a little last year, but
didn't think I'd be involved like this a year later.”
Reeves is a Waterloo native and graduate of the University of Northern Iowa. He
currently calls Pleasant Hill, Iowa, his home. His art startles the eye with
its vibrant color, aggressive yet controlled brush strokes and unrefined style.
His paintings show shuffling cars, bustling people, brilliant highlights and
deep shadows. He uses pure colors, wide brushes, and aggressive strokes to
create stark, colorful portraits of very specific moments in our everyday
lives.
Here is how the project works: A poster-sized version of Reeves’ final piece of
art is divided evenly on a graph and enlarged by guests onto panels using the
grid method of transferring one small image into a larger image. Guests entering
the art activity area at the Festival receive one of these small squares of the
original painting, a blank 12-inch by 12-inch prepared masonite panel, and an
invitation to transfer their interpretation of the small square onto the larger
panel. Then these masonite panels are affixed in a giant frame.
Guests can also create their own stunning skyline artwork inspired by the mural
at the Des Moines Art Center’s take-home art activity area. Guests can design a
dramatic sky background using ink pads and stamps, then create a silhouette
from black construction paper to place in the foreground of the sky.
GuideOne and Des Moines Art Center employees will be doing prep work by priming
the panels to be used to create the mural on the lawn of GuideOne Insurance
(1111 Ashworth Road) on Wednesday, June 3 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Founded in 1947 and headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, GuideOne Insurance
is one of the nation's largest church insurers, with nearly 45,000 church
policyholders. GuideOne also insures faith-based private schools and colleges,
as well as not-for-profit senior living communities.
The Des Moines Arts Festival is presented by The Des Moines Register, founded
by the Des Moines Art Center and produced by Downtown Events Group. The Festival
is sponsored by Prairie Meadows, Principal Financial Group®, Bank of the West,
GuideOne Insurance, Hubbell Homes, Hy-Vee and Meredith Corporation. For more
information on the Des Moines Arts Festival visit
www.desmoinesartsfestival.org.
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The art of Aviva
As the finishing touches were completed in Aviva’s new North American regional headquarters in Chicago, Rob Reeves, network engineer at Aviva USA’s Des Moines location, was placing his own finishing brush strokes on the three paintings that will permanently reside there. Rob’s oil paintings, with their strong contrasts and bright colors, caught the eye of Des Moines assistant facilities manager Heidi Peterson and, in turn, Tom Godlasky, CEO, North American region. “When I first saw Rob’s paintings, I was very impressed,” Tom said. “I thought it would be a unique opportunity to feature a very talented artist, and an Aviva employee, in our Chicago office.” Heidi approached Rob about the project in October of 2007, and Rob immediately accepted. “I was thrilled,” Rob said. “Naturally, I said ‘yes, I’d love to!’” Rob’s challenge was to capture iconic images of downtown Chicago, and his project started out with the trip to the “Windy City” where he took nearly 400 photographs. This collection would eventually dwindle down to three snapshots of the city, which were used as templates for his paintings. “I’m always looking for lighting, shape and strong linear elements,” Rob said. “I saw all of these amazing shadows on the buildings that I wanted to photograph.” The final three images showed the excitement of Navy Pier, unique architectural elements of the Chicago Theater and the city’s distinctive waterway system with the Aviva Chicago office in the background. Rob personally delivered the three five-foot-tall paintings to the Aviva Chicago office February 12. “It was exciting, and I’m very grateful for the opportunity,” Rob said. Rob has an art degree from the University of Northern Iowa, has been drawing his entire life and painting for the past 18 years. His art is currently on display at ArtDive in downtown Des Moines, which also sells his handiwork. “I’m not a subtle character and it shows in my work,” Rob said. “I like the feel of the streets in small towns especially and look for a lot of natural and man-made light.” Rob lives in the Des Moines area with his wife, Kerry, and children Chance, eight, and Zane, four. He says his family provides a lot of inspiration for his work. “When I started thinking about kids and a family, I started thinking about what my legacy would be to them. I wanted to be the dad that pursued his dream so that they could see it was possible and worthwhile,” Rob said. As for his future artistic ambitions, Rob has set some other high-rise goals: “I’d love to travel to every major city in the world and paint what I see there,” he said.
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Showcased in the February 2008 edition of DSM Magazine
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Reeves' cityscapes light up the night
By MICHAEL MORAIN June 21, 2007
Anybody
who thinks Iowa is nothing but a giant field of corn should take a look at
Rob Reeves' work. For the past dozen years, the artist has painted cityscapes
that capture everyday (and night) life in downtown Waterloo, Cedar Falls,
Iowa City, Dubuque and Des Moines.
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