_PNG.png){kind=small}
Roberta Rousos
USA
_p.png)
“The necessity for reconstruction left me with a secondary emptiness that demanded to be filled with creative expression.”
Roberta Rousos is a mixed-media artist from Central California. After the sudden death of her husband in 2007, she was forced to rebuild a life for herself and her two teenage daughters.
A Time For Reflection | Mixed Media
$445
16 X 12
Is she hiding or emerging? She is pausing, looking inward.
She has always been a visual person. She went back to school at California State University of Sacramento where she completed her bachelor’s and master’s degree in Studio Art.
Nostalgia For Innocence | Mixed Media
$480
14 X 11
So sweet. And yet, there is more beneath the surface. She has been through a lot.
Coming from a long line of artisans and crafters, it was clear that creativity ran in Rousos ’ blood. Her father taught metal shop, while her mother was a homemaker who sewed, braided wool rugs, and wove pine needle baskets.
“Making items “from scratch” was always considered a valued skill.”
Over the years, Rousos continuously rediscovers the joy of slow crafting with love. She enjoys sharing that love of making with both children and adults. When faced with trauma, people are often given platitudes as something to hold onto in the healing process, such as “take baby steps” or “live one day at a time”.
I Am Fierce | Mixed Media
$525
20 X 16
She is the result of being evacuated from a wildfire. She carries her anxiety behind a mask of fierceness.
Our lives are an accumulation of moments that become memories. Good or bad, they make us what we are today.
Memories and Moments | Mixed Media
$520
12 X 24
She believes this is good advice, not just for when we are at the dark depths of our suffering. We can live one day at a time every day. Her husbands’ passing taught her that life is precious. It can end in a moment.
“I vowed to live with no regrets or fears. Art was always my joy so I counted my blessings and registered for college with no idea where it would lead.”
“I base my life and career on a simple philosophy: take a step. My work is constantly evolving. I continue to learn and create, and I endeavor live life one a day at time.”
In her first painting class, the professor tasked each student to choose a subject to paint for the entire semester. After mulling over her options, she decided to paint something that she always has with her. She decided to paint herself. This was the beginning of her fascination with female portrait painting.
Speak To My Chaos | Mixed Media
$525
20 X 16
She was begun during a wildfire evacuation. Numbness overrides the swirling emotions.
Rousos’ mixed media portraits present an array of women as subjects. They are often strangers, but some of the subjects are inspired by real-life women she has met on her travels. The woman typically looks directly at the viewer as if the fourth wall doesn’t exist.
Awake From Your Troubled Dream | Mixed Media
$425
14 X 11
We are our thoughts and dreams. Change your thoughts and change your life.
The eyes of these women are inviting, questioning, and sharing. They ask the viewer to look at them directly and accept their offer of an intimate connection, thus opening a conversation between the viewer and art. Look into their eyes, just as they are looking into yours.
There are times when we just need to stand up.
Rising Out Of | Mixed Media
$525
20 X 16
“I have always considered myself a creature of opposites. I constantly struggle to integrate chaos and logic, gravity with freedom, and reality with dreams.”
Wisdom In Hardship | Mixed Media
$525
16 X 20
We are here to learn lessons. Often they are taught through difficulties. Wisdom is overcoming the challenge and learning the lesson.
Art is an integration of texture and color, material and style. Rousos chooses to reflect life’s design for layers and variety in her art through her use of mixed media. Her insatiable curiosity leads her to experiment with new materials and techniques, often discovering new uses for old materials.
Every moment of every day we choose to be positive or negative. It really is a simple choice. Make it.
A Simple Choice | Mixed Media
$525
18 X 24
Each portrait begins with a line drawing using Stabilo wood crayon or Elegant Writer pen; both are water media, leading to an intense yet cloudy base. Alcohol-ink printed papers, utilizing a gel mono-print plate, and other miscellaneous papers are collaged over the drawn portrait. Then, multiple layers of watercolor, acrylic, and additional Stabilo are added to provide depth and richness. At some point, the portrait makes it known that she is finished.
Wonder |Mixed Media
$480
14 X 11
The world is a wonderous place. Notice it in gratitude.
“I was born an artist. It’s just taken me years to remember.”
Not a solo artist yet? Subscribe to our solo exhibitions at TERAVARNA and share your art with the world!