Robert Aquarius is not bothered by the active environment that is Jackson Square. Instead, he seems to thrive off of it. Interacting and joking with passersby about more than just his art, Robert looks more at ease than at work. Although relatively new to selling his artwork in Jackson Square, Robert has been creating art in New Orleans since the early 1990’s. Robert creates large and small pieces, but the art he displays in Jackson Square is mostly comprised of spade and shovel heads with portraits painted on them, canvas paintings of local wildlife and other subjects, and most attention grabbing iron skillets that are painted to look like a breakfast meal, such as eggs and bacon, are being cooked in the skillet. This use of objects helps Robert stand out, but it is not his only way in which to get passersby to notice his work.
He actively engages with clients by using friendly chit chat and seems to know several people who frequent the area, despite being a relative green horn to Jackson Square. “What’s up with you? I’m Robert Aquarius,” in a polite and warm tone is how Robert began several of his interactions with pedestrians who’s attention was caught by Robert’s art. His friendly and positive attitude compliment his artwork in that seeing the joy he takes in creating art is almost a part of appreciating the art itself.
A painting by Aquarius titled “Twinkle Eyes”. Photo from the Palette Doodle Series.
Robert thinks that his relationship to art started in his childhood. He remembers his mother waking him up in the middle of the night to do strange things such as rearrange all of the furniture in the house or to paint the walls a different color. Although those activates were not art per se, he believes that it was these spontaneous acts of creativity that might have influenced his interest in art, along with the fact that maybe he got creative tendencies from his mother biologically. Robert never received formal art education. He spent much of his youth working service positions in different parts of the South East. This was not due to art not providing for him but because he was doing no work then. Profit was not Robert’s first intention when he started creating art. Initially, Robert was not aware of his talent and therefore never knew that he could support himself on creative labor. In the early 1990’s, Robert found himself depressed. His then girlfriend suggested that painting may help. This started his love of painting, and this love is clear by the passion that he has when talking about it.
Two decades later and Robert is an established New Orleans artist that not only paints but is also described as “folk artist, muralist, outsider artist, poet, and sculptor.” He now owns a studio in mid Gentilly Terrace just north of Gentilly Blvd. There he works on large pieces and is establishing an internet presence and website with the help of his girlfriend.
Robert expressed that much of his inspiration is drawn from the canvases he uses. What this means is that instead of approaching a new piece with a preconceived idea, he picks up the object that he might want to paint on and sees if it “tells me what it is.” An example is that he saw brake shoes in a junk yard, picked them up and saw that they “were” melon slices, and went on to paint them as such. Robert finds images and inspiration from his mixing palettes as well. Rather than cleaning off or throwing away a paint palette, Robert prefers to re-purpose the paint. Robert uses newspaper as his palette. When he’s done painting, he examines the newspaper and looks for images in the paint. When the personality of the shapes in the paint jump out at him, he proceeds to paint the image he envisioned. Robert created a series called the “Palette Doodle Series.” He said it was not only a great way of preventing good paint from going to waste, but they are also some of his best sellers.
A source of inspiration for Robert that is likely not shared by many other artists is an alternative personality that he said sometimes paints through him, and has a different style. Glancing at his work revealed that there was a noticeable difference between certain series. They both shared the bold and bright colors that encompass his paintings, but the lines and themes for the separate series were nothing alike.
The experience that stood out most when meeting Robert was the pure relationship that he has with art. Considering that his artistic career started out as a therapeutic practice, it seems that his art comes from his desire to create the art rather than the revenue that it can provide him. His relaxed demeanor and enthusiasm made Robert seem at home set up against the fence in the back of the St. Louis Cathedral. He is just as content chatting with someone about his art as much as discussing a price. Most of the art work that he sells in Jackson Square is within the average tourist’s budget, but he also does larger pieces and murals that range in price and purpose. He was adamant about not doing commissioned work unless the price was very generous and it was a project that he liked. Even then it seems that commissioned art work is of relatively low interest of Robert. Ultimately, it seems that even though Robert can now support himself with his art, that is not why he does it.
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