Mario Robinson’s artistic journey has unfolded in distinct “acts,” each marking a shift in how he sees, feels, and paints the world. Trained in oil, devoted to pastel, and ultimately transformed by watercolor, Robinson’s story is a reminder that embracing change can lead to deeper authenticity and freedom in one’s art.
Act One: Finding His Medium
Robinson began his journey as an oil painter, studying at Pratt Institute in New York. The rich texture and versatility of oil appealed to him, but the fumes of turpentine-filled studios made the experience less inviting. During a college break, he experimented with soft pastels — a safer, more immediate alternative. “It was like drawing with color,” he recalls. Pastel became his primary medium for the first decade of his career, allowing him to explore realism with luminous sensitivity.
But as his pastel technique became increasingly demanding, the physical toll on his hands pushed him to search for a more sustainable path. That search led him to watercolor — a medium he had long admired but avoided for its notorious difficulty.
Act Two: Learning to Let Go
Robinson immersed himself in watercolor, studying masters like Andrew Wyeth and Winslow Homer, as well as contemporary artists such as Dean Mitchell and Stephen Scott Young. The transition wasn’t easy. “I could see why so many artists avoided the medium,” he admits. The unpredictability of water forced him to relinquish control, but eventually he came to see that very unpredictability as its greatest gift. “There’s an immediacy in watercolor that can encapsulate a moment in time unlike any other medium,” he says.
Act Three: The Art of Belonging
Robinson’s work reflects the people and places that shaped him — from his Oklahoma childhood to the southern scenes he painted in Alabama, and the New Jersey shore he called home for more than three decades. His paintings celebrate the quiet dignity of everyday life, the unguarded moments that define who we are.
Today, his work carries the clarity and confidence of an artist at peace with his medium — one who has learned that growth often requires surrender. “As I shed each layer of the past,” he says, “my work stands as a testament to my growth. I suppose you could say the final act has yet to be written.”
Start your own watercolor figure painting journey with help from Mario Robinson’s video workshop, Beginner Watercolor Portraits.
