Art as Life: How My Work Reveals My Personal Story

Reflecting on the Journey

"John Robertson art exhibit: 30 years of personal work displayed at Santa Paula Art Museum."

I’ve been creating art for over 30 years now, and each piece holds a little bit of me. When my wife Lynn Hanson and I had a concurrent show at the Santa Paula Art Museum, I saw it as more than just an exhibit. It was like opening up a part of my life to others—something I don’t always get to do with some of my more personal work. This show wasn’t about timelines or some big survey of my career. Instead, it felt like a biography told through individual pieces.

Some of these works had never been shown before. They were just sitting in my studio, hidden from the world. I wanted this exhibition to be different. I didn’t want to just put together a clean, orderly collection. It was more like gathering scattered moments and memories into one space. Not everything matched, and that’s exactly how I wanted it.

Biography Through Art

Mixed media and dimensional art pieces by John Robertson reflect a biography through art, representing different aspects of life in an intimate museum setting.

Over the years, my art has been an outlet for telling parts of my story. This show represented different pieces of my life and experiences, not in a strict, neat order, but more in bits and pieces. Some works are deeply personal, yet they touch on themes that are universal. We all go through moments of reflection, struggle, growth—those human emotions seep into the art, even if they weren’t intentional at the time.

The pieces in this exhibit were also varied—dimensional wall pieces, free-standing assemblages, and paintings. A mix of everything. The gallery gave me the perfect intimate space to share these works. And while it may have seemed like a hodgepodge, it was a true reflection of me. Each piece represents a different chapter of my life, my biography, if you will.

An Unfiltered View

When people came to the show, I wanted them to feel like they were having a conversation with the work. That’s the thing about art—it speaks in ways that words just can’t. Whether it’s a simple painting or a more complex assemblage, each piece has its own voice. Some viewers might have felt a connection to a specific work, and others may have been drawn to something else.

The show wasn’t about making everything perfect or polished. This was about being real, presenting art that reflected where I’ve been, both personally and professionally. It’s a visual biography of sorts, with pieces scattered across time, each telling its own story, not as a survey, but as a collection of life experiences, feelings, and moments.

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Brushstrokes and Basketballs: The Art Behind the Perfect Shot

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Painting the Neighborhood: Life-Sized Portrait of My Studio Neighbor