Robert Lees

Artist’s Biography

Robert was born in Royton, Lancashire in 1949 and has lived in the town ever since. Educated at St Anne’s Church of England secondary modern and then at Oldham College of Technology, he qualified as a Mechanical Design Engineer. Later, he ran his own engineering consultancy for 22 years up to retiring in 2010.

From 1975 to 1988 he avidly painted every evening, however, the demands of his business took over and he found little time to paint. Then in 2010, after retirement and some soul searching, he started to paint again. On this website are examples of his early work and more recent work.

Robert’s influences are without question from the impressionist school, Degas, Manet, Monet, and especially Renoir. Also, the fathers of impressionism, John Constable and J. W. Turner. They were the most wonderful interpreters of light and mood there has been.

The moorland and countryside with lakes, reservoirs, and canals around the area where Robert lives inspire him and give him a wide variation in subject matter. His landscape paintings were usually in mixed media primarily in gouache with pastel, watercolor pencil, charcoal, and chalk. Now, they are primarily in Oil.

Robert works from home in his purpose-built studio.