Robert (Chip) DuPont

My work is a reflection of my life; born of periods of joy and sorrow, energetic confusion and wallowing depression, diligent study and constructive experimentation, months of boring monotony balanced by instant flashes of divine inspiration, all coupled with a lifelong passion to create. Applying a combination of skills developed over the years of many varied and eclectic career paths, my drawings are small snippets of my life.

I am inspired by the natural world around us all. It has been aged by time, ravaged by wind, beaten by rain, cracked by heat and frozen by cold. This has created artwork that man cannot duplicate, but that the artist feels compelled to emulate. I cannot replace the beauty of the freshly blooming field of wildflowers after a spring rain, but I am compelled to capture a small piece of it. I cannot duplicate the power of the towering oak tree. I must try to reflect a glimpse of it.

Color, form and image are the elemental building blocks of my art. Utilizing oil pastels on wood or paper, I am often pulled back into the childlike world of kindergarten. It was there that I hoarded my personal box of crayons as if they were a starving man’s last crust of bread and spent most of recess finishing a drawing, while everyone else was outside playing dodge ball. I knew then that I was just different.

Drawing is the most intimate and direct art skill. It is as individual as your fingerprint. I enjoy working from memory, still lifes and found imagery because it allows me to bring together some elements that were not always together; a color, a shadow, a plant or a structure. It allows the creativity to flow.

Born in Austin, Texas, I currently live in the Hill Country outside of there. Before embarking on art as my full-time passion a number of years ago, I had many day (and night) jobs. I have been a chef and a dishwasher, a manager, a mailman, a seller, a buyer, a carpenter, a painter, a picture framer, gallery owner, tutor and a school board trustee; as well as a husband and father.

I utilize no apprentice or outside sources for my work.