Artist Atkinson’s works are eclectic

Artist Robert Atkinson, of Vallecito, helped found the Calaveras County Arts Council in the 1980s. Amy Alonzo Rozak/Union Democrat, copyright 2009

Inside, there’s a wood-burning stove, shelves of intricate pottery and surreal art on the walls. Boxes of paints, brushes and tools clutter the counters. Dusty art fills the attic above.
 

 “My place is funky, you can say that,” he says. “It has its own character.”

Atkinson, who turned 89 earlier this month, has a variety of artistic outlets: etchings, enameling, raku-fired pottery, stained glass, acrylic paintings, jewelry and sculpture.

“Some of them do sort of have stories, some have titles,” he says of his etchings, which are carved into copper using tools or nitric acid. “When I’m doing titles, I do get a little whimsical.”

In the piece titled “There’s good news and bad news,” the plot goes like this: A man recovering in the hospital embraces his nurse as his gun-carrying girlfriend is on her way to pay them a visit. The mother of the girlfriend is calling the father of the boyfriend to warn him.

When describing another piece, he says, “This person has died and the good forces and bad forces are fighting for this person’s soul.”

Others, like one featuring a woman watching an opera and a man playing the flute, have no explanation behind them.

“You wonder sometimes when you do things where they come from,” he says.

Atkinson’s inspiration comes in a variety of forms, including Egyptian mysticism, Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch and expressionist painter Richard Lindner.

As for his raku-fired pottery, Atkinson creates ceramic boxes, jars and even teapots.

Raku pottery uses fire, inside a kiln, and smoke, from a barrel with shredded paper or leaves, to create different patterns and designs. Some glazes can create iridescent qualities, while anything without glaze turns black.

“One thing about raku, you never get the same thing two times in a row,” he says.

Atkinson also makes necklaces, earrings and pendants. Around his neck is another of his jewelry pieces: a bolo tie with turquoise, brass, silver, white agate and a tiny piece of black ebony.

“I kind of like to combine materials,” he says.

A member of the Calaveras Gem and Mineral Society, Atkinson became a founding member of the Calaveras County Arts Council in the early 1980s.

Atkinson’s art is sold at the council’s San Andreas gallery as well as a gallery on Pennsylvania Gulch Road in Murphys. In the past, his art and jewelry sold at the Ironstone Vineyards gift shop.

“I can’t believe a man of his age ... his style and his techniques are so contemporary,” says Penny West, the Arts Council’s co-executive director. “He’s just very with it as far as trying to learn new techniques and perfect ones he’s already done.”

“There are a lot of people in this county who just crave his jewelry,” she adds.

This year, the Arts Council established the Robert Atkinson Visual Art Scholarship Fund. Atkinson gave $10,000 — to be distributed in $500 increments — to help three high school student artists further their education each year.

“Even just a small amount of money can help them with tuition and supplies,” he says modestly.

A rainbow of ribbons hang on Atkinson’s walls, proudly displaying awards won everywhere from the Calaveras County Fair to art shows at Columbia College.

Born and raised in Peoria, Ill., Atkinson fought in World War II.

 “I tried the Marines at first and they wouldn’t take me. My eyes were a little off,” he says. “So I went to the Navy and they took me.”

After the war, he returned to Illinois and studied for more than two years at the world-renowned Art Institute of Chicago.

“Then I decided I wanted to come out to California,” he recalls.

Atkinson lived in Los Angeles for nine years and then spent decades in the Bay Area before retiring in Vallecito more than 30 years ago.

During his working years, Atkinson held a variety of jobs: working for a pharmaceutical company, an auto parts dealer, an art supply company and a general merchandise wholesaler. He even co-owned a jewelry store.

Atkinson says he wasn’t picky about work — he was just glad to have a job and support himself.

Once, in the 1960s, he went 17 days without a job and “thought that was just terrible.”

But he wasn’t all work and no play.

“Every vacation I got I was off and away someplace,” he says, listing off countries around the globe.

Atkinson says he’s never made a steady living from being an artist and he once quit teaching art classes because of the low pay.

For more than 60 years, art has been a consistent way to express his creative side and for that he’s grateful. 

 “I’m sure glad I have this art background because it gives me something to do rather than just sit in front of a television,” he says with a laugh.