Before I met Robin, I was in a season of my education during which I struggled to finish any drawings or paintings. I lacked the technical skill to bring my ambitious ideas to life and I lived in a cycle of discouragement. As my teacher and mentor, Robin taught me the foundations of technical artistic skill and an entirely new way of seeing that gave me a freedom of expression in my work. Instead of shying away from the challenges of art-making, I learned a variety of methods and approaches that are now at the core of my creative process. My work began to improve rapidly, along with my confidence.  

Beyond her prolific abilities as a teacher, Robin generously offers insight and practical tools for life as a working artist, from applying to residencies and writing grants to toning and building my own surfaces. She is an expert in all areas of her craft.

With Robin’s continued mentorship and example, I've seen that it is not only possible, but realistic and deeply fulfilling to pursue a professional career in Fine Art.

— Carly
Private student, Mentee (drawing, painting)
https://www.carltonhopepickett.com/

Before I started working with Robin, I wasn’t really sure of my place within drawing. I chose Robin to be my mentor based on her brilliance as a draftsperson; there’s really no one out there who can hold a candle to her. What I hadn’t anticipated was how much more I would gain from working with her. Dry medium has always been my medium of choice, but the basic knowledge I had was focused solely on the use of mechanical pencils. Robin’s limitless knowledge and masterful skill of different materials paved the way to discovery for me. Her example allowed me to jump into the skills I needed to handle the material. With Robin as a mentor, I was able to fill in the holes in my foundational knowledge. She tailored her teaching style to the way I naturally work, giving me a freedom and authority over my craft. Robin was able to help me in other facets of my art career as well by helping me manage my time better and build attainable goals for the semester. These skills directly translated into my artistic life outside of college. All she was able to instill in me is due to her own fantastic and tenacious duty towards her own craft.

— James Thistlethwaite
Mentee (drawing)
http://www.jamesthistlethwaite.com

Robin is a great artist and teacher. Among professional artists and seasoned educators, she stands with those in the highest ranks as a stellar combination of the two. If you seek understanding, technical mastery, and inspiration, then Robin should be your first choice for mentorship. She has the rare ability to meet her students at all stages of development and give them the timely and relevant advice needed for the next leap. Robin knows and practices the technical knowledge developed by the Renaissance Masters. She is personable, professional, and has a humble attitude. If you are seriously considering a mentorship, do not second guess Robin as your first choice—she is simply the best.

— Daniel
Mentee (drawing)

Robin has a remarkable ability to break big concepts down to fundamentals and communicate each idea clearly and simply. In her Fundamentals for Everyone workshop, I experienced so many lightbulb moments through her demonstrations and explanations. But the best part of learning from Robin is her systematic way of teaching—all skills and techniques are built much in the way a house is constructed, first with the foundation, then framework, then details. I left her workshop feeling confident in how I could use her roadmap to continue to progress and develop in my own work. I'm so glad I got a chance to learn from her!

— Sarah Lyu
sarahlyu.com and @sarahlyustudio

I felt something was missing in my art before I met Robin. I yearned to paint in a traditional manner. I had been learning on my own, but didn’t feel I was progressing.

I met Robin at one of her open figure sessions and saw her artwork on her studio walls. I was inspired. I signed up for private lessons. Even after the first lesson, I saw an improvement in my work. Momentum built after each lesson and I could feel I was headed in the right direction. Unfortunately, as time went by my vision was declining. Despite this change, I went through a continuing phase of exploration in finding my creative voice with this new set of eyes. I found myself venturing into the abstract realm and putting my original dreams aside. It was disheartening. But the most beautiful part of this was that Robin strived to help me through it all.

In the spring of 2019, I enthusiastically registered for both portrait and figure drawing classes with Robin after seeing her work at an exhibit in which we were both featured artists. Robin's painting in that show was a moving example of the depth and virtuosity she brings to all that she does. Although I have worked professionally for many years as an artist, primarily in 3D media, I knew that studying with Robin could be a game-changer.

In her courses, Robin offers a sequential curriculum to build skill and aesthetic intuition in her students' work. Many teachers in the arts merely present opportunities to draw or paint and then provide critique. Robin's approach combines practice, carefully selected exercises, reference to important academic resources, and guided technical and creative development. She meets participants wherever they are and moves them steadily forward. As a former educator, I appreciate the effectiveness and attuned awareness Robin brings to her teaching. She has the sensitivity and insight to read what level of critique will most benefit the individual student. Her judgments about how much information to add, how to pace instruction, or how hard to challenge a particular student are not pat decisions, rather, discerned responsiveness to the spirit of the person and the moment.

Robin possesses the knowledge, the mastery, and the linguistic prowess that are missing in most art educational experiences. She is also a kind person with the maturity to carry her professional achievements with both confidence and humility, always dedicated to her own on-going growth. If she intimidates, it is solely by virtue of her innate exquisiteness and brilliance! But she does not seek to intimidate: her classes are emotionally safe while maintaining intellectual and creative rigor.

I believe another mark of a superb teacher can be observed in the accomplishments of her long-time students. One need only peruse some examples on her website to see the positive contribution Robin has made to the careers and the work of others. I recommend Robin's mentorship for anyone at any level who wants to advance in the arts. I will continue to study with her even though she moved 80 miles away from where I live and work. She is that valuable a resource.

— Maria
Group class student
http://www.mariabattista.com/

There are hundreds of teachers who are average. There are teachers who are really good at their jobs. There are teachers who are outstanding. And then there is Robin Cole. She falls into the category of the supremely gifted. She is not only a remarkable and highly accomplished artist with countless insights, suggestions, and techniques to offer, but brings to the table communication skills far superior to those of most artists. Another teacher once told me that if you cannot verbalize a concept, you don’t truly understand it. With backgrounds in both English and fine art, Robin knows how to thought-form verbally and visually. This is invaluable to any artist who truly wants to express themselves and fully understand what it is they are expressing.

Before I met Robin, I wasn’t sure what my art was about and didn’t know how to talk about it. My notions were vague and, as so often is the case with artists, when I explained my concepts, there was a disconnect between them and the images. In addition to offering loads of technical advice, Robin also helped me find my artistic voice. I learned to discuss what my work is actually about and began to see common threads in my work and to develop them further. She also helped to point out my unique qualities as an artist. This kind of self-knowledge is critical to the profession. It also helps with grant writing, which she is very skilled at.

Robin is an empathic teacher and is highly intuitive. These traits greatly help the cause of coaxing out a student’s inner artist. Study with her, it will be one of the best decisions you have ever made.

— Gavin
Mentee (drawing, painting, sculpture, writing)
http://gavingardner.blogspot.com/

My past experience with art instruction comes from a state university art department.  The process there involved the assignment of a project to be completed within a set time frame, without much instruction on how to do it,  followed by a critique by the prof and fellow students, based on ambiguous parameters and subjective personal opinions. (Seemingly with an attitude of “tough love”)  It was basically an exercise in stress. Robin, however, takes a structured, sequential, technical approach to artistic skill development to give one the skills and the knowledge base to create a compelling piece of work.  I learned more in the first few hours with her than I did in the years spent in the university.  This is not an exaggeration for dramatic effect.  It is a statement of fact. 

Robin is generous with her time and her knowledge base.  She will address specific questions in the group setting with thoughtful comprehensive answers.  There are no stupid questions in this environment and in this non judgmental atmosphere, it is easy to fill in the holes and gaps in your knowledge base and skill sets. She provides lectures with exposure to historical and contemporary artists to demonstrate her points, demonstrations, video tutorials, printed reference material, and product recommendations.  It is an optimal learning experience.

She is a working artist and she draws and paints alongside you. Because of my participation in her group classes, I have made quantum leaps in my progress.

— Dan Pankey
Group class student, private student

Robin uses her excellent skills and talent to help others learn oil paints, charcoal and other mediums. It was a pleasure to learn from her and I would highly recommend her classes for those who are interested. From intermediate to expert Robin is a great teacher and I’ve learned a lot from her classes.

— Oscar, 13
Private Student

I have taken several classes from Robin and plan to take as many as I can, for the following reasons. First, Robin is a very accomplished artist – her work has been recognized nationally. One need only look at her at her portfolio to see this, so she has plenty to teach. She is also a very well-educated artist, and brings a breadth of knowledge of techniques and artist and art to her classes. Classes are well-organized, and focused, with a good balance of theory, demonstrations, practice and individual critiques. She finds something positive, something good to work from, in everyone’s work. Which leads to the last comment, which is that Robin is a lovely person and creates a relaxed and collegial atmosphere in studio. In the classes I have taken, there was a wide range of skills and experience among the artists, but there was space for everyone and everyone improved. So I would recommend her classes highly to anyone that wants to improve their artwork.

—Mark
Group class student