Robert Bradshaw

Artist and illustrator Robert R. Bradshaw was born in Midland, Michigan, on August 27, 1930.
He worked full-time as an artist for more than three and a half decades. Starting with the Art
Institute of Chicago and The American Academy of Art of Chicago, he studied illustration and
commercial art. After finishing these courses, he worked briefly for an art studio before enlisting
in the Navy, ending up in the Korean War.
A 15-year career at an interior design firm in Boston was followed by a move to San Francisco.
He stayed for 25 years, operating a home furnishings store called The Obelisk for eight years as
well as returning to his own personal artwork. Bradshaw exhibited in many galleries in the City
and participated in San Francisco Open Studios.
After selling The Obelisk in 1985, Bradshaw moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, where he was juried
into the Carmel Art Association in 1995. Eight years later, after this brief but period of
distinguished exhibitions and sales success at CAA, he relocated once again, this time to Palm
Springs. He became a member of the Artist Council of Palm Springs and won many awards from
both the City and the Palm Springs Art Museum.
Major influences in Robert's artistic career included N.C. Wyeth, John Sargent, and every
American illustrator since the 1950s. As the years passed, his work reflected a more colorful
palette and larger format than ever before.
Robert invented a unique artwork technique. Approaching every work from “dark to light,” he
first sanded and distressed illustration board. He then applied layers of colored acrylic inks to
illustration board until it turned almost black, Next he drew an image onto the board — often
enigmatic and Surrealistic in style — and began removing the black backdrop using the same
inks, but with a brush as well as paper napkins to pick up the old inks.
The final step in this process involved adding layers of clear and opaque acrylic ink washes plus
either oil or Prismacolor pencils for the fine details. This complex process, which relied on
experience from lengthy trial and error, reveals a rich residue of colors and texture in the tooth of
the board, both around and within each image.
Two quotations stand out from two separate interviews with Robert Bradshaw:
“I didn’t want to do watercolors, I didn’t want to do oils, I didn’t want to do any straight
discipline. I wanted to invent my own new medium.”
"In my work I illustrate drama unfolding, much like a one-act play. Not actually recording a fact
so much as creating an effect. My aim is to engage the viewer, to impose the image on his
imagination."