About the Artist
Artist Statement
Natures palette offers a range of wild intensity to subdued tranquility. I am attentive to the environment, finding artistic inspiration, meditation, and structure in the impressionistic patterns that exist in the natural world. I am currently focused on painting expressive landscapes. Encaustic, soft pastel, gouache and watercolor are my mediums of choice. I also love experimenting with new combinations using traditional and non-traditional materials. Pure, lush color meshed with organic shapes and form allows me to create ambience on a flat surface.
"Color is my day-long obsession, joy, and torment."
Claude Monet
Biography
Robin Samiljan grew up on the North Shore of Chicago in Wilmette, IL. After graduating from Vanderbilt University she moved to Swampscott, MA. The beauty of the New England landscape captured her imagination and prompted her to re-create nature’s gifts through visual art. Following the reading of the book "The Tao of Watercolor" she studied watercolor painting with Vermont artist and author Jeanne Carbonetti. Years of being active in the arts community led her to becoming president of the Swampscott Art Association followed by heading the art committee at the Marblehead Art Association.
Robin was introduced to encaustic painting techniques while attending the International Encaustic Conference in 2009 hosted at Montserrat College of Art where she was teaching watercolor painting. She started exploring soft pastel painting after moving back to Chicago in 2013. The Covid 19 pandemic allowed her the time to hone and combine a variety of her artistic techniques.
Samiljan continues to work with multiple art mediums using saturated pigments on papers and boards, often combined with wax or gesso to create luminous, dimensional textures. She exhibits her work in local and national shows and maintains her "Copley Artist" membership in Boston. Most recently, her home has transitioned from Chicago to Green Bay, WI where she is actively re-connecting with nature and offering painting workshops at the Peninsula School of Art in Fish Creek, WI.
News & Press
Summer issue, volume 38
COVID 19: Staying at home, working at home...
The Copley Society of Art is proud to present Miniature Moments, a solo show of encaustic works by Robin Samiljan.
Evanston artist Robin Samiljan’s work will travel all the way to downtown Boston.
Our featured artist, Robin Samiljan, is one of the new artists included in the Chicago Art Source Gallery Winter Show
Summer issue, 2013
It’s difficult to decide what to show when you have so much accumulated artwork, especially if you’re Robin Samiljan...
Tranquility and peace permeates the watercolor paintings of Swampscott artist Robin Samiljan...
It's close to midnight, maybe just a few minutes before, and Robin Samiljan is standing in her backyard, surrounded by vibrant plants and trees...
Local watercolorist Robin Samiljan merges art with poetry in her new work.
Prints
"Inspiration for 'A Year of the Full Moon' came each month when the moon was full. After viewing the moon I painted the way it made me feel rather than what I actually saw."