Robin was born in Ireland. After qualifying from Belfast College of Art he was awarded a Boise Scholarship by The Slade School of Art where he studied for a year. The following year he was invited to work as a student (with some teaching) at Camberwell College of Art. Since then he has lived in London and Oxford and five years in New Zealand. He has taught in various colleges and other institutions.
Most of Stewart’s work explores the way people interact with the world. It is as if each person has created their on unique environment in which to exist. Drawing is a key element of Stewart’s work. He draws people he knows, objects (both natural and manufactured), exploring what it is that gives them their appeal.
Mixed Media
What sets Mixed Media apart from painting and drawing is that it has elements which remain in flux until the moment when a composition is resolved. These images often have parts which are drawn or painted. The additional references (the collage elements) create an illusion of space, an environment with particular significance to the subject of the image.
Painting
One area of Stewart’s work is oil paint on canvas. These pieces are often created over a period of months, or even longer. Although it is more difficult to move the elements around than in collage, the aim is to radically alter the feeling of a painting each time it is worked on. These paintings create a feeling of space which read as two dimensional, with three dimensional references. As with his collages, the paintings often place a figure in an environment which evokes an atmosphere of an inner world.
One area of Stewart’s work is oil paint on canvas. These pieces are often created over a period of months, or even longer. Although it is more difficult to move the elements around than in collage, the aim is to radically alter the feeling of a painting each time it is worked on. These paintings create a feeling of space which read as two dimensional, with three dimensional references. As with his collages, the paintings often place a figure in an environment which evokes an atmosphere of an inner world.
Drawing
Drawing another person is an extremely intimate thing to do. When a drawing works it seems able to surpass painting as a means to tease out the essence of a person. Lines of ink or pencil on paper have an energy like nothing else, flowing likes waves, capturing something which would otherwise vanish in a moment.