PROFILE
Roberta Park is a New York City artist who specializes in acrylic painting. She is a graduate of the “Fame” school, La Guardia School of the Arts, where she majored in visual art. She also studied at the School of Visual Arts and SUNY Purchase. Currently she is taking classes at the Art Students League. Her 2017 piece “Guts and Grime” was in the City Views Exhibit at the Office of the Manhattan Borough President. Ms. Park is a licensed massage therapist. She loves animals, especially her cat Ellie, who is a frequent model for her painting and is the subject in her current painting. Ms. Park resides in Forest Hills, New York.
STATEMENT
I get ideas for my art by observing and seeing. I love looking at mundane objects and asking myself, “What makes them special”? Things such as a tear in a piece of paper, the white spots on my cat, and rolls of used burlap along the highway intrigue and inspire me to express myself through painting and printmaking.
My dreams also play a major role in my creative process. They have lots of colors and images, such as an outdoor crafts fair where a burnt orange vase caught my eye. A few days later I found myself painting a burnt orange goblet surrounding many shapes amidst a blue sky. The recent passing of family members has also affected my art. My paintings have become more spontaneous and abstract.
Being furloughed from my job as a result of the pandemic has allowed me to spend more time on my art. The unexpected time has taught me to enjoy the present and to continue learning new things.
RESUME
My objective as an artist is to continue expressing myself and growing through my art. Currently, I sketch ideas with pencils and oil pastels, then use these sketches to create acrylic paintings and monoprints. I study at the Art Students League, where I take mixed media classes and observe artists working on many types of projects. Seeing people use techniques new to me, such as collage, assemblage, and printing, has given me the objective of using these techniques in my work. Other objectives are to work big and to return to mediums I have not used in a while, such as oil painting and calligraphy.
SKILLS AND TOOLS
• Painting
• Sketching
• Printmaking
• Design
ART SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION
• Art Students League 2017-
• School of Visual Arts 1984-1987
• SUNY at Stony Brook 1980-1984
• High School of Music and Art (LaGuardia School of the Arts) 1976-1980
ART EXHIBITIONS
• Arts Students League
• City Views
ORGANIZATIONS
• Society of Scribes
CONFERENCES
• National Sculpture Society Conference. Park Central Hotel