Inside the Studio

Robert Bubel

What are the major themes you pursue in your work?
I am interested in all topics and themes. But recently, I am interested in humans in different situations and places. I also paint landscapes without personage, but with a trace of human presence. Theme is not as important as personal engagement. Painting is, for me, a very personal statement.

What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
“Painting is a decision. And the most important decision in painting is the composition.”  So said my professor Zbigniew Grzybowski, a painter.

Prefer to work with music or in silence?
Usually I work in silence. When music plays, I don’t hear it.

If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?
Only one? Caravaggio’s Conversion of St. Paul or one piece by Francis Bacon; whichever.

Who are your favorite writers?
Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Carlos Ruiz Zafón.