Robert Louis Caldwell, ARCALM, SAA - Biography

In the field, Tarangire NP, Tanzania
Working in the studio, Midlothian, VA
In the field, RMNP, Colorado
Born in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Robert Caldwell spent his boyhood years in Verplanck, New York, where he learned to love the outdoors. The Boy Scouts were a conduit to nature for Robert and provided him with some of his most memorable adventures, including 50-mile canoe trips in upstate New York and backpacking in Cimarron, New Mexico.

Although Robert always loved to draw, it was in middle school that he discovered art’s magic — that he could draw an image on paper that looked three-dimensional. By his senior year, he was taking four art classes a day, working solely in graphite and colored pencil. He also oversaw a team of student artists who painted a mural in the cafeteria that he designed, and won several local competitions, including a storyboard contest for a TV commercial about conservation.

Robert attended Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, where he graduated in 2000 with a B.F.A. in Communication Arts. He won several awards in college from Strathmore Artist Papers’ and the Society of Illustrators.

Today, Robert’s passion for art and nature can be seen in his highly detailed, realistic paintings and drawings.

Robert draws inspiration from familiar items. He searches for elements that are often overlooked but that provide opportunities for compelling compositions. Working from his Midlothian, Virginia, studio Robert uses photographic references complemented by field studies, from regional wildlife refuges to the African bush, to compose his drawings and paintings.

“This is where I make the choices that affect the underlying structure of the piece,” Robert says. “I like the challenge of creating a well-balanced composition — it’s like solving a problem and trying to figure out how all the pieces fit together. Just like a house, it’s what’s under the surface of the artwork — what you don’t see — that makes it beautiful. You don’t see the load-bearing supports in a million-dollar mansion, but without them, the house would crumble.”

When painting, Robert starts with a detailed drawing and then adds color layer by layer using the drawing as a value guide to create astonishing detail. He employs a similar technique when drawing with graphite. “I work in layers, using the hardest grade pencil first and work my way through to the softest grade, slowly building on top of each existing layer. This is what gives my work depth.”

Robert’s work has appeared in numerous national exhibitions, including Birds in Art, Art of the Animal Kingdom and Art and the Animal. In 2009, the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum in Wausau, Wisconsin — home to Birds in Art — purchased Robert’s painting “Sewanee Barn (Feral Pigeons)” for its permanent collection. 

Robert is represented by Lovetts Gallery in Tulsa, Oklahoma and  Horton Fine Art in Beaver Creek, Colorado.
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He is a Signature Member of the Society of Animal Artists and in 2018, was named an Associate Living Master in the Art Renewal Center, an international organization dedicated to promoting education in realistic art.
Collections
2015
​Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
Wausau, Wisconsin
“Tall Pickings (Yellow-billed Oxpecker),”
​Graphite, 5 x 9
Residencies
2015
Artist in Residence
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum
​Wausau, Wisconsin
Exhibits
Publications
Awards and Honors
  • 2018 – Named an Associate Living Master by the Art Renewal Center
  • 2012 - Best Animal Painting, First place, “Almost Miniatures” Show, Francesca Anderson Fine Art Gallery, Lexington, Massachusetts
  • 2008 - Evelyn and Peter Haller Distinguished Young Artist Award, The Society of Animal Artists
  • 2008 - Stonebridge Promotions Award, Kentucky National Wildlife Exhibit
  • 2001 - Certificate of Merit, Society of Illustrators
  • 2000 - Honorable Mention, Strathmore Artist Papers
Associations

Classical Realism in Oils and Graphite

Telephone

804.476.8317
Updated: November 3, 2022  Copyright 2022 Robert Louis Caldwell