Robin Cole

If you’re a painter, you’ve surely heard the name Rosemary and Co. spoken with a religious sort of fervor. This devotion is not at all unreasonable, as Rosemary has swept though this exorbitantly expensive and frustrating market, ushering in a new era of quality, durability, and affordability (relatively speaking). Their brush offerings are ever-expanding, and they are endlessly responsive to customer feedback and artist requests, often creating custom brushes and brush sets for individual artists. You can purchase all of these brushes at Rosemary’s website.

Here are a few of my daily favorites and the reasons I reach for these brushes again and again.

Overall thoughts on Synthetic vs Natural Hair brushes:

Crunched for time? Here's a ultra-concise gift idea list for the artist in your life!

I have always loved the optical truth that all rainbows are complete circles. Our perception of them as arcs has to do with our point of view. Only under certain unique circumstances can one see a full, circular rainbow, sometimes visible from very high vantage points that do not often fall within the realm of daily life. However, the vision of this particular rainbow reflecting in Standley Lake on my way home made me realize just how capable we are of reaching beyond our perception, and beyond the visible, into what we know to be true. Everything has to do with our point of view, be it that of the eye, or that of the heart.

This painting seemed to strike a chord with so many people when I exhibited it this year. By popular request, I’ve created a limited edition archival print, now available in my store! If you’d like to bring this piece into your home because it tells a portion of your own story, I wholeheartedly invite you to do so.

My new body of work will debut at Gallery 1261 (followed by a second installation at the Arvada Center) this coming spring at my solo exhibition entitled Genesis. These paintings explore themes of mystery, wonder, and science as viewed through the lens of magical realism that has so strongly characterized my first years of motherhood. Read on for a snippet about this body of work, a peek at the paintings, and my formal artist statement for the show.

Don’t let the term “fundamentals” fool you…this workshop is not just for beginners! Though those new to oil painting will benefit immensely from the topics we’ll cover, I’ve carefully designed this class to address some of the most consistently challenging principles of paint-handling that often stump intermediate and even advanced artists. True masters—Sargent, Zorn, Rembrandt, Sorolla, all the rest—are masters of fundamentals! This intensive, four-day workshop is a deep dive into the most essential aspects of these underlying principles in painting (and drawing).

My newest skyscape painting, Hope for Ukraine, will be available via live auction on Instagram beginning tonight, March 4th, at 5pm MST. Bidding will close at 5pm MST on Sunday, March 6th. Place your bid(s) in the comments!

This 12" x 12" oil painting on panel is valued at $1,500 retail. Bidding will begin at $300. Increments of at least $25 are encouraged! Please feel free to share this with your friends and family--I would love to raise a substantial amount to donate to a relief organization. The winning bidder can simply make a tax-deductible donation to a (vetted) non-profit of their choice and DM or email me a screen shot of the confirmation plus a shipping address. I will ship the painting as soon as it is dry (domestic shipping is free--small fee for international). I, along with my family and closest friend, native Ukranian, and fellow artist, Alla Bartoshchuk, have chosen to support United Help Ukraine, but there are other good organizations available as well. Below you’ll find a list of vetted charities and other ideas.

Because we’ll be limiting the number of attendees to nine people (plus Robin and the model), we’re asking that you commit and sign up ahead of time for each session.

Because we’ll be limiting the number of attendees to seven people (plus Robin and the model for a total of nine in a well-ventilated space), we’re asking that you commit and sign up ahead of time for each session.

Life Drawing: Resuming May 2021!

Because we’ll be limiting the number of attendees to five people (plus Robin, Robin’s studio assistant, and the model for a total of 8 in a well-ventilated space), we’re asking that you commit and sign up ahead of time for each session.

For those who have been wondering what I'm cooking up behind the scenes this fall as I take a break from my normal classes, I have a very exciting announcement! I'm thrilled to share that Quang Ho has invited me to be a part of Made for Artists. I can't wait to share some of my favorite tricks of the trade as a faculty member of this truly unique online learning platform. It's an honor to join this gifted group of artists and teachers. The trailer for my first video, Light and Shadow: The Sphere (beautifully simple yet infinitely complex)—I’m starting with the meatiest bit of drawing foundations!—is below, with the full video premiering on Monday, October 5th

Our beloved Wednesday short pose sessions are taking a vacation for a few months—it turns out the Covid version of life drawing, while certainly do-able, gets trickier with the cold weather, reduced capacity, and reduced ventilation, and is a bit administratively heavy for my current workload. Also, all my models are moving away!! I have found a few new ones, but I’m still rebuilding the roster and would welcome applicants (yes, I’ll consider newbies—please contact me to discuss) for when our sessions begin again in 2021.

COVID-19 UPDATE: Current plan is to meet throughout September! Later months TBA.

Because we’ll be limiting the number of attendees to five people (plus Robin, Robin’s studio assistant, and the model for a total of 8 in a well-ventilated space), we’re asking that you sign up ahead of time for each week’s session (see form at bottom of page).

COVID-19 UPDATE: Current plan is to meet throughout August!

Because we’ll be limiting the number of attendees to five people (plus Robin, Robin’s studio assistant, and the model for a total of 8 in a well-ventilated space), we’re asking that you sign up ahead of time for each week’s session (see form at bottom of page).

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: We will reconvene in July!!! :D

Because we’ll be limiting the number of attendees to five people (plus Robin, Robin’s studio assistant, and the model for a total of 8 in a well-ventilated space), we’re asking that you sign up ahead of time for each week’s session.

A short tour of some of my tricks for building the cradled wood panels I use as painting supports (see additional videos for tips on priming or mounting linen!).

A little overview of my technique for mounting linen on a panel.

Here, I am using wood panels, but it would be just the same for ACM panels (plus an added step of roughing them up with 150 sandpaper and wiping them down before applying adhesive). Please enjoy my professional artist attire (I mean, it's important to be comfortable in the studio), husband videography, and obsession with keeping stacks of cinderblocks in various household closets.

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: I have decided to postpone the Wednesday Short Pose sessions through April 30th, then I will reevaluate. This page is the best point of reference for updates about the schedule.

Short Pose Figure Drawing All experience levels welcome!
Every Wednesday, 2-4pm in NW Arvada

From gesture to anatomy, we’ve got it all! Grab your pencils & stretch your drawing muscles and your mind with poses ranging from 1 minute to 20 minutes at my home studio in Arvada. Though I also offer formal figure and portrait drawing classes, this causal, uninstructed short pose session is a chance to relax with fellow artists, music, and talented models (nude) while getting some weekly drawing exercise. Come join us and keep your skills up to par, or practice new ones!

In celebration of International Women’s Day and the many amazing, strong women who have helped shape my life, I’m hosting a long pose figure painting/drawing session at my studio with an incredible model. Amy is a competitive CrossFitter, breast/ovarian/cervical cancer fundraiser and activist, tattooed beauty, and mother extraordinaire of four daughters, and we’ve invited her to sit for us for a six hour session!

Always wanted to draw, but aren’t sure where to start? Been drawing for years, but want to hone your accuracy and skill? Can’t find that friendly neighborhood art teacher who focuses on technique? This class is for you! It’s one of my favorites—I learn new things every time I teach it. Strong drawing and painting skills are really all about fundamentals: they are the magical cure for frustration and those enigmatic challenges in more complex drawing/painting projects. Join us at my studio and let me share my favorite secrets with you and your pencils!

From gesture to anatomy, we’ve got it all! Grab your pencils & stretch your drawing muscles and your mind with poses ranging from 1 minute to 20 minutes at my home studio in Arvada. Though I also offer formal figure and portrait drawing classes, this causal, uninstructed short pose session is a chance to relax with fellow artists, music, and talented models (nude) while getting some weekly drawing exercise. Come join us and keep your skills up to par, or practice new ones!

Between other projects, networking, a bit of teaching, and training a rebellious teenage golden retriever, I’ve been slowly pulling together the various components of my biggest physical project on record: turning the previous owner’s detached wood shop into my personal art emporium. This 1200 square foot space is now divided into my personal studio (about a third) and my new teaching space (about two thirds, and three cheers for never needing to rent space again!).

In June of 2019, I moved to Arvada, CO with my new husband and began the project of setting up shop in the amazing backyard workshop that is certainly the best feature of our truly wonderful new home. It is quickly becoming a studio space, with sealed cement floors, two 10 ft north light windows (going in later this week!), and all my gear soon to be liberated from boxes. As I re-build my painting and teaching community in this wonderful new town, I’m also building drawing horses, still life carts, a model stand, etc. I hope to offer an incredible space for intimately sized classes (see offerings on my group classes page), private lessons, and even workshops hosted by guest artists.