Visiting Rob Pruitt in his large studio in Brooklyn was a wonderful way to spend a Sunday morning.
Pruitt was warm and articulate explaining to us his own “art history” and how he started using Panda imagery in his works. As a boy, Pruitt would often visit the Washington, D.C. Zoo with his father and look at the Pandas—that sweet image has stayed with him and appears frequently in his work.
In one of my photographs, Pruitt is standing in front of a compilation of smaller versions of every picture that he has painted of Pandas.
As for the colored background with happy faces, it is a 2 step process. Pruitt sprays the background of the canvas in glowing colors. He uses plain “Staples” paper and draws many, many faces, and when he likes an image that he has drawn, he then transfers it onto the canvas.
As we were leaving, we walked in front of a multicolored dinosaur on our way out… a lovely ending to a morning with art.
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