Fine art has the gentle power to reflect the best things in life. . . beauty, hopefulness, serenity. The hands of artist Robin Frisella harness that power in pastel works that are as stunning as they are calming. An apple in an antique bowl. Ripe pears just waiting to be eaten but, for now, somehow being simply elegant. Pale pink tulips that pop against the white of a treasured old vase.
The paintings Robin creates have a photo-realistic quality. But they are hardly images captured in a flash. She painstakingly arranges the objects she has chosen to paint – often pieces of nostalgia that are striking in their antiquity and grace. She blends pure pigment on sanded paper to artfully achieve the tones, lights and shadows of these objects she has so deliberately assembled. The results are still lifes in sheer splendor, memories and moods come to life through layer upon layer of pastel patiently stroked in natural light.
In 2000, after taking a local pastel class, Robin found her calling. Art would be more than a pastime. It would be her life’s work. She left her job of 18 years and began teaching art herself. The first piece she entered in a juried competition won Best of Show. As her successes and followers grew, she decided to start her own gallery. Frisella Fine Art Studio opened in Candia, NH in 2006.
Ten years and hundreds of paintings later, Robin moved her studio to the NH Seacoast. Frisella Fine Art in Hampton Falls is a gorgeous gallery featuring not only Robin’s sought-after work, but also pieces from fellow artists and friends.
Robin Frisella’s work has garnered numerous national and regional awards. She is a juried member of the Copley Society of Boston and a signature member of the Pastel Society of NH. In October 2016 she received the designation of Master Pastelist from the Pastel Society of America. Robin’s work has been published in the Best of America Pastel Artists Vol. II, The American Artist Magazine, New Hampshire Magazine, Artscope Magazine, Monadnock Table, The American Art Collector, The Artist Magazine and the Pastel Journal.
Recent Awards –
· Best of Show - Allentown Art Festival, June 2017
· The Lila Gold Memorial Award – Pastel Society of America’s Enduring Brilliance Exhibition, October 2016
· Designation as Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America, October 2016
· White Pumpkin – selected to travel to the Butler Institute of American Art for display in the Museum, October 2016
· 1st Place in Pastel - All Media competition of the Artists Magazine, July/August 2016
· 2nd Place - the Pastel Journal – Pastel 100 international competition, April 2016
· 1st Place in the Vero Beach, FL, Allenstown, NY, Mystic, CT, & Glastonbury, CT juried National Art Exhibitions, 2016
“Do What You Love and You’ll Never Work a Day in Your Life”
— Confucious