Available Originals
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Some of the original paintings on this page are available exclusively at certain galleries. You should contact those galleries for further information. If you are interested in any of the other originals you can either contact the consultant at the gallery where you've seen Robert's work, or get in touch with us for more information on the painting.
Infinity, 2013
42" X 56" Oil on Canvas
The idea for this painting came from a landscape I painted some years ago, which was a similar view out to sea. The ocean horizon was something I was lucky enough to see as a child from my bedroom window. Contemplating the bottomless ocean and an infinite sky confirm the presence of a mystery and awe that pervades our lives. It is my hope that as the viewer observes the bears observing, she will be pulled into that same space of awe and wonder.
— Robert Bissell
Available exclusively through Borsini-Burr Gallery
The Wellspring, 2013
73.5" X 47" Oil on Canvas
In my reading about rain forests and in my limited experience with jungles, it can seem as if all life begins in these primal settings. It is possible to believe that the health and life of our entire planet depends on these environments. Rampant growth and lush vegetation that can overwhelm compel us to seek meaning and the origin of life. The forest of Ndoki in the Central African Republic has more wildlife per square mile than anywhere else on the planet and remains largely unchanged by human beings. It also contains herds of bush elephants.
It was a photo of a small elephant in Ndoki that allowed the idea of this painting to develop. A "wellspring" is similarly defined as a source of ideas and a source of life. Perhaps they really are the same thing?
— Robert Bissell
Available exclusively through Borsini-Burr Gallery
The Arising, 2013
28” X 48” Oil on Canvas
This whimsical piece came about after a number of intersecting thoughts occurred to me, which accounts for the multiple meanings in the title of this piece.
When I was 14 years old I read John Wyndham's sci-fi novel called The Day of the Triffids, essentially a tale about how large, predatory and mobile plants are able to take over the world. For some reason I imagined these plants as sunflowers and I have always found them to be somewhat daunting and creepy. In Oregon, I once grew dozens of the giant variety to be 8 feet high and would have great fun chasing and losing the dogs amongst them. Also, like many people, I would imagine the flowers tracking the sun across the sky during the day, and I wondered what on earth would happen if 2 suns were to appear in the sky. What would happen to the sun-loving flowers? Which way would they turn? Maybe a rabbit sitting on a log would have the answer?
(By the way, it is a misconception that sunflowers track the sun (heliotropism), they mostly face and position themselves to the east. Also, the supposed discovery of Planet X, or another sun appearing in our solar system is a story going around online but probably not true and may be related to recent movies on the subject.)
— Robert Bissell
Available exclusively through Lahaina Galleries SOLD
Moonlighters, 2013
30” X 42” Oil on Canvas
At certain times of the year I am able to observe the full moon close to the horizon on the Pacific, just north of San Francisco. I can imagine being out on the water and at a low angle it seems as if the moon is actually sinking into the ocean. That was the idea I wanted to get into this painting. Edward Lear's poem The Owl and the Pussycat was also on my mind when planning this work, so there is owl placed above the occupants of the "boat" for good measure!
— Robert Bissell
Available exclusively through Lahaina Galleries SOLD
The Portrait, 2013
46” X 62” Oil on Canvas
I have executed a few paintings of groups of bears looking directly at the viewer, usually from behind a thicket of trees or bushes. Here, I wanted to pose these bears in a more open setting and in particular with an old birch tree stump which I had found in a painting by Giovanni-Battista Camuccini at the National Gallery in London. The contrast between the intense look of the bears, the massive decomposing tree and the fresh green grasses is what I find interesting. I hope this will allow the viewer a contemplation on the diversity of life and the passing of time.
— Robert Bissell
Available exclusively through Lahaina Galleries SOLD
The Release, 2012
24" X 20" Oil on Canvas
Butterflies and bears are a common theme in my work. The idea of looking up for guidance and the contrast of the lightness of butterflies with the weight of the bears is what interests me. As a child, the untouched summer meadow, full of life and vibrancy is what I remember as being as close to paradise as I could possibly imagine. At those times, all troubles and worries would fall away and a kind of release was felt.
— Robert Bissell
Available exclusively through Chloe Fine Arts SOLD
Duality, 2008/2012
30" X 40" Oil on Canvas
The state of living our lives seems always bound in a perception of ourselves as separate. There is always you and I, God and myself, ego and ego less. This belief in division is a conviction so deeply ingrained in the soul that it is one of the last things we can ever contemplate confronting. In this painting I have attempted to suggest this conundrum by showing pairs and presenting even more questioning with the bear and the monk on separate paths. That they possibly can come together in some resolution of one of life's most difficult equations is a question I wish to posit.
As an aside, please note: My comment in engaging a bear with the monk is not intended to be cynical or satirical but it is to consider and question our place in a world that can be both clear and confusing at the same time.
— Robert Bissell
Contact the Studio for more information or call 650.728.1400
Conflation, 2008/2012
40" X 42" Oil on Canvas
One dictionary definition states that conflation occurs when the identities of two or more individuals or ideas become confused until there seems to be only a single identity. The bear and the monk here are depicted traveling towards one another on a path, however I have attempted to suggest that they might meld into each other in the next few moments. This is the confusion I am presenting with these two symbols. At the least, I hope the viewer can contemplate the possibility of them both becoming one.
As an aside, please note: My comment in engaging a bear with the monk is not intended to be cynical or satirical but it is to consider and question our place in a world that can be both clear and confusing at the same time.
— Robert Bissell
Contact the Studio for more information or call 650.728.1400
The Story, 2012
40" X 42" Oil on Canvas
Someone else had suggested this title to me and I decided to use it once I read the dictionary definition. Which states: ….an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment. I like the fact that the entry denotes something that can be real or unreal. This is a major tenet in my work and here I have attempted to replicate the question of real and unreal by having us look at the nature of scale, with a kind of reference to Gulliver’s travels in Lilliput.
— Robert Bissell
SOLD by Lahaina Galleries
Blowdown!, 2012
42" X 48" Oil on Canvas
Completed last Memorial Day, this image was inspired by Joe Rosenthal's photo of the second flag raising on Iwo Jima in Feburary, 1945. Also, recently my wife and I were doing this very thing after part of a large tree had fallen and knocked down a small redwood on our property. We were able to save the tree and it is thriving. At the same time, the forest behind the property is being practically clear cut for a lumber harvest.
(With this work, I would like to honor all those who have made sacrifice and strive to make our world a more serene and peaceful environment.)
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The Mission, 2012
40" X 60" Oil on Canvas
The Inspiration for this work came from a recent study by Stanford University that showed in times of stress, such as a drought, male (bull) elephants will develop a strict hierarchy when looking for water and will follow a leader to a watering hole. Yet, when the stress period is over the hierarchy collapses. Perhaps, sometimes we have to get organized to get things done!
— Robert Bissell
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The Shepherd, 2012
44" X 56" Oil on Canvas
I had seen a photograph of a man leading a pack of hounds to a hunt. The image was not unlike a shepherd with his flock of sheep. I decided to replace the man with a bear and the hounds with the wilder wolves. The relationship of human to animal and animal to animal is what I wanted to explore. Wolves and bears, for the most part, get along well together. In this piece I hope to question our place as viewers, as we encounter this forest scene.
— Robert Bissell
Contact the Studio for more information or call 650.728.1400
The Frozen North, 2012
22" X 32" Oil on Canvas
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The Clearing, 2011
42" X 30" Oil on Canvas
Here we discover a group of bears emerging from the woodland and stopped by a body of water. The inspiration for this painting came from and experience I had confronting a coyote under similar circumstances. Our eyes lock and we look at the other from a safe place. Is the other aware that they are being observed or also looking inward and observing themselves being observed? Is this what the animals teach us? Does it matter?
— Robert Bissell
Contact the Studio for more information or call 650.728.1400 SOLD
The Visitor, 2011
30" X 24" Oil on Canvas
Recently I have embarked on a series of paintings that explore the idea of scale and gigantism. I find the questions that arise in creating the images to be interesting and more complex than might be imagined. Giants have shown up in mythology, folklore and modern literature as either quite bad beings or as "gentle giants". Same goes for small beings, although to a lesser extent. Either way they are generally depicted as being of a different nature. We also use the term "giant" to refer to creatures that excel in some way.Either way they are generally depicted as being of a different nature. Pictorially I realized that when combining different sized bears I was not always sure whether I was depicting normal sized bears with dwarf sized bears or normal sized bears with giant bears. This aspect I have decided to exploit so that we, as viewers are also unsure. This painting show 3 adult bears engaging another adult bear of a different size. Whether they look for advice or have apprehension in this situation is for the viewer to decide.
— Robert Bissell
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Hero #5 Pan, 2011
72" X 48" Oil on Canvas
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The Blessing, 2010
24" X 20" Oil on Canvas
The idea of standing under a gentle waterfall on a hot summer day is a simple pleasure we all have enjoyed at some point in our lives. For this bear it is the same.
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Guardians, 2010
36" X 48" Oil on Canvas
This painting continues my fascination with bears who hide behind trees and keep an eye out for us, as the path before us unfolds.
SOLD by Lahaina Galleries
Maya, 2010
24” X 36” Oil on Canvas
Maya here refers to the term used in Hindu philosophy to describe the limited physical and mental reality in which we become entangled. It’s often described as an illusion that is neither real or unreal, true or untrue. The water drops or bubbles are a transitory part of a greater hole (ocean) that we need to see through to gain enlightenment. Of course, as we see through the illusions that are before us, the one thing we can be sure of is that there always will be more challenges to our perception of reality.
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