Robert Townsend "COLOR" 2020

ROBERT TOWNSEND

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March 16 – 28, 2020 Scottsdale ArtWalk | Thursday, March 19 | 7:00–9:00pm

ROBERT TOWNSEND

Color

Jackson Hole | Scottsdale | AltamiraArt.com

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Cool Breeze Oil on canvas | 63 x 56 inches Enquire

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Robert Townsend Five years ago, Robert Townsend began plotting a new painting, a quintessentially midcentury scene sourced from a vintage slide. A confident woman wearing fifties finery (replete with cateye sunglasses and a bakelite purse), perched poolside on a plastic chaise lounge. Behind her, a neon motel sign towers over the palm-striped desert parkway. A canary-yellow slide snakes across the foreground, recalling the golden bricks Dorothy followed—a likeness amplified by the scarlet pumps adorning the dame’s feet. The ultimate encapsulation of midcentury ebullience.

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Thus inspired, Townsend projected the slide onto his studio wall at night, enlarging the composition to the point that he felt the presence of his heroine. He measured the image: six-feet square, which would have been his largest painting to date. Then, all of a sudden, fate stepped in. Between measuring the projection and ordering the custom canvas, he discovered a slide collection on eBay. A chain reaction ensued that resulted in the Helen series and the documentary, My Indiana Muse. The slide painting moved to the sideline.

Seizing a small window between Helen paintings and promotion, Townsend returned to the desert Dorothy. He loves that the scene features details universal to the era, untethered to a specific locale.

She could be sitting anywhere along the southwestern American dream.

This sense of an iconic character connects the painting—winkingly titled, There’s No Place Like—with the monumental Helen work also bound for Altamira. Cheers stars Helen and Roy posing with friends, tropical cocktails held high in celebration.

Clad in sherbet hues, the foursome stands against a white background, casting cobalt shadows. Part of the pack of Helen slides Townsend initially selected for paintings,

the moment felt muddled by the dark background of its setting—the shady threshold of a restaurant patio in Hawaii.

Unsure how to proceed, he waited patiently for insight, focusing instead on pictures that represented touchstones of Helen’s life. Until (only recently) it dawned on him: he could pull the quartet from the darkness and set them against a white expanse. By introducing the drama of negative space, their collective gesture takes center stage— their happy communion on vacation. A toast immortalized on a grand scale: Cheers is the largest canvas Townsend has ever done.

Working large suits the painter on many levels. Big compositions recall his early work as a muralist. Scaling photographs up so people stand life-sized makes their presence inescapable; their dynamic fills the room, forcing interaction. Spending many months on one canvas requires a certain mindset, forcing him to commit as an artist. “You have to learn how to be peaceful,” he says. “If you know there’s something you are going to work on for a year, you know you have to not be rushed, to slow down. This is not going to happen overnight. That appeals to me. It pushes me. When you commit to it, you know it’s going to take everything out of you.” For Townsend, total commitment yields total fulfillment.

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There’s No Place Like....

Oil on canvas | 72 x 72 inches Enquire

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Cheers Oil on canvas | 80 x 96 inches Enquire

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Happy Place Oil on canvas | 57 x 86 inches Enquire

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Country Roads...Take Me Home Watercolor on paper | 34.5 x 47.5 inches Enquire

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Half Past Noon Oil on canvas | 53.5 x 76.25 inches Enquire

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Childhood Oil on canvas | 57 x 47.5 inches Enquire

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Ice Cold Sunshine Oil on canvas | 27 x 30 inches Enquire

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Supermarket Sugar Oil on canvas | 23 x 34 inches Enquire

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BonBons Oil on canvas | 16.375 x 20 inches Enquire

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County Fair Oil on canvas | 23 x 28 inches Enquire

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Paris, Je T’aime Oil on canvas | 17 x 17 inches Enquire

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Sweet Tarts Oil on canvas | 21 x 24 inches Enquire

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My Little Shortcake Oil on canvas | 19 x 24 inches Enquire

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7038 E Main Street | Scottsdale, Arizona 85251 AltamiraArt.com | 480-949-1256

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