Today we share the work and words of Robert Treat.

Robert is a 2024 Denis Roussel Merit Award winner selected by Christopher James.

“I think that I recognize your style… the gestural and organic photo-graphic drawings that illustrate the depth of the artist’s internal self and perhaps the metaphorical relationship to someone close (or far away) who is intertwined with your life… and often a reflection of it. I am affected by this work and moved at how humble and powerful it is simultaneously. This work feels important … very much a personal and visual contemplation.” Christopher James 

Please click on images to see a different view.

Would you please tell us about yourself?

I was raised in Midwest suburbia with cornfields in my backyard. As a kid, I had
a strong interest in fine art and architecture. It became my primary focus in high
school and college and has been a major element in my life through present day.
It was in high school that photography entered my life. Darkroom work became a
magical escape for me plus eventually helped augment college expenses.
This background opened some doors at a small film studio in Cincinnati, where
we primarily created local TV, commercials and industrial films.
There I got thrown into commercial photography and film animation by the seat
of my pants. I loved it! It was a lot of on the job training that became
indispensable to me.

Eventually, my professional life relocated me to LA to work as an animator and
animation director in the TV and film industry. Even though I continued to paint
and photograph during this time, it wasn’t until early retirement that I was able to
pursue these interests more seriously.

Please tell us about the portfolio you submitted to the Dennis Roussel Award.

This portfolio is the beginning of a series of experimental drawings using
cyanotype solution as a medium.

Please tell us about your process.

My background is that of printmaker, painter and animator. They all involve
drawing…or mark making. Even though photography has always been a part of
my visual development, it was always separate from the physicality of drawing.

In the last few years, I’ve been intrigued by the idea of combining these two
mediums in different ways. So I”ve been experimenting with using primitive utensils: sticks, old brushes, or fingers to draw or scratch using cyanotype solution. I have deliberately chosen not to draw representationally, but intuitively.

The uncontrollable medium of the cyanotype, ink along with the primitive utensils allows me to relinquish my control and to experience the accidental Wabi-sabi that this process can produce.

The action of distilling…altering marks to create different marks, cutting, erasing,
moving, and reassembling becomes a meditative exercise.

What is the most frustrating part of the process?

I tend to keep all my rejects… Images that didn’t turn out the way I had
expected… Underexposed, overexposed, contrived marks.
Even though they’re frustrating at the time, eventually I find use or inspiration for
them in the future work.

Do you enjoy the process itself or is it just a means to an end.

For me, the process is definitely more important. I never know how an image
will resolve itself until the very end. It’s never premeditated.

How long have you been practicing this process?

I’ve been playing with this concept in my head for quite some time, but I’ve only
recently started to physically experiment with it. A couple years ago, I created a
similar series using altered acetate as a negative for cyanotype imagery. The
idea of drawing with cyanotype solution evolved from that.

How do you work through times when nothing seems to work.

I know this sounds like a lazy approach, but I take a nap. I find being in an
alpha state helps me resolve any visual problem I am trying to work out.

Is there something in photography that you would like to try in the future?

Right now I’m thoroughly enjoying working without the confines of a camera. By
continuing to combine drawing/painting with photographic materials, I hope to
begin working on larger images.

Thank you Robert. To learn more about the work of Robert Treat please click on his name to visit his page.