Robert
"Bob" Kelsch's interest in
art and design began at an early age. After discovering his love of
thrilling shapes and colors and his unique talent for portraying them on
canvas, Bob dove headlong into a career as an artist. He shares his
fondness for exciting scenes with a curiosity about people and the human
form. This naturally leads to his focus on landscapes, portraits and
figure painting.
To say that Bob's skills are limited to trees and faces, however, would be a grave error. He has developed his talents in design, drawing, layout, painting, and illustration by studying throughout his life. Bob attended The Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, California, and he also studied with Donald "Putt" Puttman, Sergi Bongart, Harry Carmean and the sculptor Bruno Luchesi. Professionally, Bob's work covers the spectrum of fields from painter and illustrator to sign maker. His body of work includes the following: pictorial painting, lettering, newspaper ads, brochures and design, including logo design.
Bob considers himself a colorist, designer and draftsman who paints what excites him. He enjoys working primarily with such mediums as oils, acrylics and colored pencil. Residing in San Diego County, he regularly travels to remote regions of the Western U.S.A. and Canada to capture special scenes that would be fun to paint or draw. "For the fun of it" is the primary motivation for his work; his eyes are always observing, his head always turning to imagine how he would depict his observations.
Bob enjoys swapping notes with other like-minded artists. In fact, sharing his interests and skills with others has been a rewarding part of his growth as an artist. From holding private workshops to teaching adult education classes he has educated others on the topics of his expertise. Art groups frequently ask him to demonstrate on life drawing, portrait painting, figure painting, landscape painting, rendering, lettering or design.
Bob has won many awards for his portraits and paintings, resulting in his popularity and causing his paintings to be in high demand.
Bob Kelsch passed away on September 23, 2016