Apparitions: Paintings by Tim Robson and Kristin Winters, opens today at College of the Desert’s (COD) Walter N. Marks Center for the Arts. An “apparition” is defined as “an act of appearing or becoming visible unexpectedly; manifestation;” both Robson and Winters, who are COD students as well as artists, create figurative paintings, many large-scale, that often evoke a haunting feeling in the viewer.
There will be an opening reception on Wednesday Nov. 4 from 5 to 7 p.m., with musical entertainment provided by COD’s own student jazz ensemble, No Chaser. The reception, which is free and open to the public, is being underwritten and catered by Solano’s Bistro in La Quinta. The Marks Art Center will also host an artist’s talk with both Robson and Winters, on Wednesday Nov. 18 at 6 p.m., which is also free and open to the public.
Tim Robson, a native of Arizona who now resides in the Palm Springs area, won “Best of Show” and First Place in the Acrylics Division at last year’s Rancho Mirage Art Affaire. Self-taught, Robson has been influenced by the works of Fritz Scholder, David Hockney and Richard Diebenkorn. Robson’s creativity was channeled through the art of cooking for many years, but he found that his career as Executive Chef left him little time to paint. “Having been raised as part of a very large and extended family, my work often connects me to positive memories and the enjoyment life brings,” explains Robson; “I gravitate to new adventure, travel, and stories of the past. The people and places of interest to me are the foundation of my work. I incorporate bold color, sweeping brush strokes, and the use of light and shadows in my images to create a certain emotion in each piece. The unstructured nature of my figurative work lends a perspective that enables the viewer to personally relate to my art.”
Kristin Winters, a graduate of Palm Desert High School and a La Quinta Arts Foundation scholarship recipient, is also a “non-traditional student” of sorts, having returned to the Coachella Valley recently after earning her B.F.A. at San Francisco Art Institute. Winters painted large-scale images of ships and industrial structures during her time in the Bay Area, but her recent work consists of a more intimate series of paintings of the local mountains. “Since I was born and raised here, I’ve seen the same jagged edges my entire life,” Winters says. But with her return to the area, she has been able to see the fluid character of the mountains with new eyes, as neither static nor idealized. “They’re so still, yet they’re always changing. I see it as a metaphor for life and the human experience.”
PLEASE NOTE: Gallery hours have changed this year. The Marks Art Center is open Monday through Thursday from 12 noon to 4 p.m. and by appointment. For more information call (760) 776-7278.
