Artist Biography, Continued:
Recognized
for
attention to rich detail
with elegant understatement, Bob Webber's style is often
described as documentary. He considers the majority of his
subjects to be historically significant with regard to builder,
time period, vessel construction and the boat's history
of ownership. Intrinsically, all of this makes its way into
the details of his finished work.
Bob
is quick to point out he does not paint pretty boat pictures,
nor does he consider himself to be a traditional marine
artist -- a genre of painting more focused on artistic atmosphere
and scenic elements or historical events. As a portraitist,
Robert Webber's work more closely parallels that of the
portrait artist. When a portrait photographer or painter
creates a portrait, an accurate expression of the subject's
unique characteristics is fundemental to the success of
the work.
Webber
is meticulous in researching of his classic subjects--culling
through owner records and information from a variety of
resources. An example is the recent Aphrodite Commemorative,
for which he culled information from Mystic Seaport archives
as well as from direct descendents of the Purdy family company,
the builder of the boat in 1937. Bob feels this attention
to particulars not only insures accuracy, it enhances the
documentary and artistic value of each painting. As a consequence,
each yacht portrait can take three or four months before
some of his works are completed.
From
Wall Street titans to oil and coffee barons, Bob's works
are held in private, corporate and museum collections in
the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Webber's
custom yachting art has evolved over three decades into
the artistic documentation of classic and traditional watercraft.
As a result, he recently began publishing "Great American
Yacht Classic Editions" -- a limited edition series
devoted to surviving American-built boats from the 1900's.
The editions feature vintage boats owned by clients who
are proud to share their enthusiam and accomplishments in
the preservation of yachts from an earlier time.
Robert
Webber's artist studio is located in Punta Gorda, Florida.
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