Art is Life

Artist Robert Hartwig took his last formal art class in the eighth grade. By then, he had decided that he really enjoyed creative pursuits and self-exploration, realizing that for him, overly-formalizing education tended to sap joy from previously joyful pursuits.

Hartwig never gave up on art. He simply pursued a less formal course of learning. He doodled, he used open-source image manipulation software, he took lots of not-so-good photos.

Now he's older, and with years of informal practice and paid design work under his belt, Hartwig enjoys learning new techniques in ways that sometimes feel bumbling or unpolished.

For example, after years of poorly understanding the potential of watercolor paints and imagining reasons not to use them, Rob rekindled his interest when he taught watercolor techniques to his elementary aged nephew during the Covid-19 lockdown. Similarly, Rob occasionally purchases art supplies he’s never used only to begin reading, watch how-to videos, and begin putting recommendations into practice.