Explore the world of a marine artist's infinite artistic possibilities. Maine artist Rob Anderson is a painter artist attempting to control the wonderful medium of oil paint.
"If you ever get really good, maybe someday....I'll let you paint my fence."
This was the comment from a wise-ass Uncle upon seeing one of my earliest works of art. That powerful statement was like a tiny sliver in my finger that has festered and bothered me for years. I know now that he was joking, but as a small child, it was devastating. I've never forgotten how it crushed my spirit and shattered my confidence.
What a misfit I was growing up in the land of redneck Mormons. I was raised on a cattle ranch high in the Uintah Mountains of Utah. I was a frail blonde, overly sensitive kid who needed glasses and was entered into school at the age of four. At the time there was was no pre-school. From kindergarten until I graduated from college, all i really cared about was becoming a painter artist. It was my escape.
After high school, i had a two year life interruption when the Mormon church sent me to Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island in the Maritime Provinces of Canada to "sell religion." Sadly the only positive thing to come out of that miserable experience for me was an introduction to the rugged sea coast and a growing love of Canada and the Atlantic Ocean.
Enduring the belittlement of being a cattle rancher's gay son, I somehow managed to earn a position on an International Touring Dance Team for Brigham Young University. After college, I opened a Salon where I worked as a cosmetologist for 17 years. I have learned how to knit, cook & bake, play the piano, and am continuing to attempt to master the potters wheel. I have also discovered the magic of creating stained glass windows. My youth taught me appreciation for nature and its beauty. Dancing and touring across Europe, the Middle East and China.... among other places, created in me a hunger for travel and discovering other cultures.
Religious repression and hate acts against us gave us the courage to get the hell out of Utah when the Mormons gave us the boot for being gay. We wanted to get as far away from Utah as we possibly could.
We spent a year traveling to Alaska, the Pacific Northwest and the East Coast searching for a new home. We needed to find a place we could live peacefully as a gay couple. We finally pulled up roots to become a Maine artist. We have resided here now for 26 years. I'm proud to say my partner and I are about to celebrate our 42nd year together.
After moving to Maine, I couldn't survive on my art alone even though I sold for years in private galleries. Unfortunately they take a great percentage of the profit and I needed to make a living. I was hired as an Operations Agent for a local ferry boat company where I worked as a supervisor for 22 years and retired right after Covid hit. I grew to love the islanders, many of which I saw daily. I didn't even mind having my truck covered with seagull shit. It was wonderful to work right on the waters edge. Now that i'm retired I'm concentrating on becoming a marine artist. I have time to paint and travel and do the things I want to do. Life is a grand adventure. Hopefully, this journey of discovery will continue for many years to come.
