Artist and illustrator Robert R. Bradshaw was born in Midland, Michigan, on August 27, 1930.He worked full-time as an artist for more than three and a half decades. Starting with the ArtInstitute of Chicago and The American Academy of Art of Chicago, he studied illustration andcommercial art. After finishing these courses, he worked briefly for an art studio before enlistingin the Navy, ending up in the Korean War.A 15-year career at an interior design firm in Boston was followed by a move to San Francisco.He stayed for 25 years, operating a home furnishings store called The Obelisk for eight years aswell as returning to his own personal artwork. Bradshaw exhibited in many galleries in the Cityand participated in San Francisco Open Studios.After selling The Obelisk in 1985, Bradshaw moved to Carmel-by-the-Sea, where he was juriedinto the Carmel Art Association in 1995. Eight years later, after this brief but period ofdistinguished exhibitions and sales success at CAA, he relocated once again, this time to PalmSprings. He became a member of the Artist Council of Palm Springs and won many awards fromboth the City and the Palm Springs Art Museum.Major influences in Robert's artistic career included N.C. Wyeth, John Sargent, and everyAmerican illustrator since the 1950s. As the years passed, his work reflected a more colorfulpalette and larger format than ever before.Robert invented a unique artwork technique. Approaching every work from “dark to light,” hefirst sanded and distressed illustration board. He then applied layers of colored acrylic inks toillustration board until it turned almost black, Next he drew an image onto the board — oftenenigmatic and Surrealistic in style — and began removing the black backdrop using the sameinks, but with a brush as well as paper napkins to pick up the old inks.The final step in this process involved adding layers of clear and opaque acrylic ink washes pluseither oil or Prismacolor pencils for the fine details. This complex process, which relied onexperience from lengthy trial and error, reveals a rich residue of colors and texture in the tooth ofthe board, both around and within each image.Two quotations stand out from two separate interviews with Robert Bradshaw:“I didn’t want to do watercolors, I didn’t want to do oils, I didn’t want to do any straightdiscipline. I wanted to invent my own new medium.”"In my work I illustrate drama unfolding, much like a one-act play. Not actually recording a factso much as creating an effect. My aim is to engage the viewer, to impose the image on hisimagination."