Artist Robert McArthur blends fantasy and imagination in this collection of mixed media relief artworks. View more of his portfolio on his website.
“Steampunk Suzy” acrylic paint & impasto on canvas, 18″ x 30″
My practice explores the space between representation and abstraction through sculptural painting, mixed media, and photography. I work with forms drawn from the human figure, marine life, landscape, and natural phenomena, transforming their visual character through changes in color, surface, scale, and spatial context. A recognizable subject may remain, but the way I use material and color can change how that subject is perceived. I am interested in that point where something familiar begins to shift, inviting the viewer to look beyond the subject itself.
“Symphony to the Stars” acrylic paint & modeling compound on canvas, 11″ x 17″
In my paintings, I combine acrylic with hand-formulated, non-toxic sculpting compounds to build raised forms on canvas and panel. These relief elements create a physical separation between image and ground and give the work a sculptural presence. Layered paint, palette-knife application, fluid pours, marbling, and metallic pigments bring constructed forms together with surfaces shaped partly by intention and partly by flow and chance. Light is also an important part of the work. As the viewpoint or illumination changes, shadows and highlights reveal different aspects of the relief, allowing the physical character of the work to change with its surroundings.
“Swimming through the Stars” acrylic paint & modeling compound on canvas, 18″ x 24″
My fluid abstractions draw from the movement and visual character of geological and atmospheric processes such as magma, water, weather, and seismic activity without attempting to depict them literally. Pouring and marbling allow color to organize movement, contrast, and depth while leaving room for unexpected interactions between materials.
“I was Lost but Now I am Found” acrylic paint & modeling compound on canvas, 24″ x 36″
In my figurative and environmental works, recognizable subjects provide a starting point for exploring transformation and the relationship between human and natural forms. My photography follows a similar approach, using color, contrast, composition, and observed details to move real environments toward abstraction.
“Ocean Life Rising” acrylic paint & modeling compound on canva, 12″ x 24″
I began my art practice in 2017 after a career in automotive design and engineering. That experience continues to influence the way I think about construction, materials, spatial form, and the relationship between individual elements within a larger composition. My work has been selected for ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and recognized by Manhattan Arts International. I am based in San Antonio, Texas.
“Hurry Home” acrylic paint & modeling compound on canvas, 16″ x 20″
Across these different bodies of work, I do not see abstraction as a departure from the visible world, but as another way of seeing and reshaping it. Whether I begin with a recognizable form, a natural process, or an observed environment, I am interested in what happens when the familiar is transformed through material, color, and surface. I want the finished work to remain open to interpretation, giving viewers time to move between what they recognize and what they discover for themselves.
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