Paintings and Pool Halls with New York City Artist Arthur Robins

Artist Arthur Robins has a talent for capturing New York City street scenes through lifelike, colorful paintings that are filled with color and detail. But his work goes deeper than the eye can see. Regarding his art and process, he says “I work from a place in the mind that I discovered where reality, memory, imagination and the dream world meet.” Painting poetic depictions of life and play, the artist continues to create on canvas the world he sees. Now working from a larger studio in Pennsylvania to house his vast amount of work, Robins spoke about his inspiration, process and beginnings as a young art student.  

Can you tell us how you discovered your passion for art?

 I discovered my passion for art when I was about 2 years old.  I was given a coloring book and crayons. I took a yellow crayon and moved it over red and created FIRE!!!!  And that fire started a fire in my mind and heart. The passion grew and never stopped. I was constantly drawing insects, animals , dinosaurs and imaginary scenarios and worlds, all through childhood. I was fortunate to grow up with educated, artistic parents who encouraged my love of art. They bought me books on art and even sent me to a local art school for children and adults in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where I grew up. It was extremely thorough and sophisticated. But the key to my art education, which solidified my future, was the art department at my high school. Fate would have it that it was the best high school art department in the US. I know that because it won every single art contest in the country every year. And when I went to an art school for college, I saw that I had been taught more than any other student there. It was in high school that I really grew through countless art classes, even classes at night. I was tasked with doing ten drawings a night for three years straight. It really prepared me to study art in college.  

How do you come up with ideas for your paintings?

When I moved to NYC to study art at 18, I always carried a small drawing pad in my back pocket and drew often. I have over 200 drawing pads , filled from living in NYC for more than 40 years. Those drawings of the city became  a great source of painting material, which I use to this day. But my fertile imagination for other subjects from my imagination seem to have no end.  It’s like a continuous river. I just stick my hand in it and pull out a fish. There seems to be no limit to it. I discovered a place in my mind where reality, memory, the subconscious realm and the dream world meet. I often paint from there. Even if I am painting from a drawing, I filter the image through that place in my mind.

Your most well-known work features New York City cityscapes and scenes featuring pool playing. Can you talk about your draw to these two themes?

New York City is unlike any other city on Earth. It’s so rich in texture, history and depth. Every square inch seems to cry out. The millions of people who have touched every door, every piece of sidewalk , every  fence, every wall, left their mark. When I draw I feel massive amounts of joy and pain, drama and fear, and everything in between; from every crack and crevice of the city. I paint from these drawings and expand on the feelings and ideas recorded in the drawings. My ‘on site’  drawings of NYC are like one or two hour exposures from the camera in my mind. The paintings are like 12 hour exposures. The paintings are more like movies. I capture hundreds of big and small ideas and feelings in each painting. Or I at least try to. Plus I paint the city from memories and imagination. 

The Pool Paintings are inspired by a friend from art school. He was an amazing pool player. He would go into pool halls and beat great players, not for money, but just to see the look on their faces. And he painted pool paintings. While I also wanted to do pool paintings, I decided that, because I paint so many other subjects, I would leave that entire genre for him. He died mysteriously and tragically in 1991. So in 1991,I painted my first pool painting in his honor. It was called ”Pool Hustler.” The act of painting pool for the first time was so intense I couldn’t believe it . I had to paint another. Then another and another. I couldn’t stop. I spent an entire year painting nothing but pool paintings. I casually  mentioned this to my mother. She told me that when i was an infant and young toddler, she would roll me in my baby carriage into my Uncle Arty’s pool room in Brooklyn (I’m also named after him). I barely remember it, but my subconscious mind certainly did. I suddenly realized why all the men in my pool paintings  were dressed in clothes from the 1950’s. I was born in 1953. Eventually, people in the pool world discovered my paintings and appreciated them for their authenticity. I soon became known for those paintings through the pool-playing community. While some paintings were from drawings in actual pool halls, most came right out of imagination. 

How would you best describe your process? Can you walk us through how a scene of everyday life comes to life on your canvas?

I first prime my canvases ten times before painting on them. To prepare to paint, I pre-mix 100-200 colors. I then spread them out and mix them all together on my huge palette. From there I will scoop up paint and apply it thinly or thickly depending on what I am doing. I work mostly with oils. I don’t ”draw” on the canvas but go straight to paint, either thick or thin depending on the subject.

You’ve been a working artist for many generations. What have you personally witnessed as the artworld goes through changes throughout the years? 

Because of the internet, artists and the public can now see the work of artists from all over the world from the comfort of their own home. This is mostly a good thing. 

What, in your opinion, are the greatest challenges for an artist today? 

The greatest challenge for an artist today is to stand out and connect to people who, because of the internet, are bombarded with art. Art has become impersonal because we aren’t seeing it in person and are no longer meeting the artist in person. 

Are there artists, past or present, who most inspire your work? 

Many artists influence me and inspire me. Rembrandt for his impossible mastery of everything. Chiam Soutine for his incredible unique view and fantastic paint quality. Van Gogh for his severe honesty and brilliant color mixing. Goya for his daring provocative spiritual insight. Dali for his genius imagination and mind boggling technique. Hieronymous Bosch for his fantastic over the top unique vision and ability to perform it. Kandinski for his creation of abstract expressionism. John  Sloan and all the Ash Can School artists for paving the way to show real life. Max Ernst for his inventive surrealism. And the German Expressionists who broke new ground. Plus many many others.

Do you have any themes or projects you’ve yet to create?

I have hundreds of full sketchbooks made over the last 50 years. Each drawing is a potential painting. I am continuously getting fresh visions of new ideas, new vistas, new concepts and  fresh, adventurous ways to approach the infinite worlds of this creative universe.

Arthur Robins website
https://poolpaintings.com
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