Rob MacIntosh displays enormous diversity in his work. Within the broad divisions of wildlife, landscape, and seascape Rob explores a multiplicity of subject matter ranging from the signature rural and urban architecture of South Africa (available at the Ferriera gallery in Bryanston, Johannesburg) and America to sweeping compositions of the deserts, mountains and agricultural heartland of the region. Rob is a self-taught artist which has tended to liberate him from much of the formality of fine art which in turn has laid the foundation of Rob’s free-spirited journey of personal creative expression.
At the root of Rob Macintosh’s work is his passion for art, for the outdoors, and for the work and interpretation of many of his principal influences. These include Carl Brenders, Terry Isaac, Ray Swanson, and photorealist Richard Estes among many others.
Rob works predominantly in oils but enjoys merging this medium with acrylic in a mixed media style that has become his own. As a child, Rob displayed his artistic sophistication by forswearing crayons for a pencil which began a fascination for fine detail that is also a signature of his work.
In the early stages of Rob’s career, his work tended to center around landscape and seascape, but in due course, he began to experiment with realism in his treatment of wildlife subjects. Strict adherence to anatomical accuracy has always been a feature of Rob’s work, and one that has, as his art has matured, developed into an uncanny sense of form and detail in work that suffers nothing as a consequence in feeling, humor, and simplicity.
Thanks to this preoccupation with detail Rob’s work has drifted from hyper-realism to photo-realism. This, of course, fermented an interest in other practitioners of photo-realism which is clearly evident in Rob’s later work. The question is naturally asked that if one is striving for photo-realism why not simply opt for a photograph? To Rob, as with all gifted artists, the journey is as important as the destination. The challenge of achieving perfection is vital to Rob’s motivation, and no doubt the quality of his work owes much to this.
Rob Macintosh holds a respected place among South African and American artists, although his work has an international essence, reflecting the wildlife and landscapes of many regions. With a maturity that comes from years of experience and experimentation, Rob’s work has both a classic and contemporary flavor in a manner both distinct and striking, and yet subtle and understated
