Marigold Arts
is pleased to present a solo exhibition of watercolors by Robert Highsmith.
The show will feature scenes of summer in New Mexico and Colorado.
If it were possible, Highsmith's photorealist watercolor landscapes just
keep getting better--more nuanced and gently suffused with emotion.
There is nothing like a cool, shady river scene in July, and Highsmith's
paintings are the next best thing to being there.
Quiet Spot,
Sitting Bull Falls
Among Highsmith’s recent
awards and honors are the Best of Show in Western Impressions, El Paso
and the Top 100 Award in both Paint the Parks (St. Louis, MO), and Paint
America (Topeka, KS). His work was featured in 2009 in New
Mexico Magazine and in SPLASH 11 in 2010, and was added this year to the
collection of the Federal Reserve Bank in El Paso.
His paintings make strong,
simple statements that capture the light and landscapes of the Southwest,
evincing equal parts technical virtuosity and heart. He paints primarily
landscapes, occasionally focusing on a cow or architectural structure.
Highsmith’s paintings reveal a softness of light, shadow, and brush that
can only be accomplished with the immediacy of watercolor, complimented
by the stark contrasts that lend the work its photorealism.
Last Light
on Spider Rock
Highsmith’s work has been
widely exhibited across the United States and has won more than one hundred
awards, among them numerous Best-of-Show awards. Most recently, he
won two awards in Artist Magazine’s 2007 competition, in the landscape
category, and one of his paintings was chosen for the magazine’s 2008 calendar.
His career highlights include
the Emily Goldsmith Award from the American Watercolor Society in New York,
NY, where he has signature status; participation in the traveling watercolor
show Looking Toward the Future; and The Western Federation of Artists Award
of Excellence. His work is represented in numerous public, corporate,
and private collections here and abroad, including those of the Capitol
Art Foundation, Santa Fe; Tomasso Corporation; Aetna Insurance; Hartford
Insurance; the Hublein Corporation; Southern New England Telephone; Maitland
City Hall, Maitland, Florida; WCHS Television, Portland, Maine; and the
Hilton Head Public Library. Highsmith’s work has been featured in
Southwest Art, Art of the West, Artist Magazine, and Watercolor Magic.
It was included in the exclusive, invitation-only November 2009 Mountain
Oyster Art Show in Tucson, AZ. Highsmith currently resides in Las
Cruces. Click here for more Highsmith.
