Painting

Visitors will be able to see works for sale and in progress along with sketches and insight into the painting process. You may even catch the artist at work ! There will be fun hands on activities for both adults and children.

Using self-portraiture, I give an unvarnished look at the unsung, unending work and exhaustion of motherhood. My paintings act as vignettes of domestic moments in which a dreamlike space and expressive mark-making reveal mood and emotion. I explore what seemingly mundane moments say about parenthood, identity, and division of labor. Carefully rendering objects, such as laundry detergent and patterns found on clothing, shows a moment of time and place and social class. Toys and parenting objects, like a baby monitor, in the paintings show the presence of a child, but keeping the mother as the primary subject of the painting emphasizes parenting. My aim is that my paintings shed light on the work of caretaking, promote discussion of how society can better support caretakers, and help other parents realize they aren't alone.

Robin Arnitz’s work deals with themes of power struggles, gender, and expressive mark-making through painting. She learned how to incorporate storytelling into her work at a residency in Bali. In 2010 Arnitz earned her MFA in painting from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan where she was awarded a Merit Scholarship. Arnitz currently shows at Shift Gallery in Seattle. Arnitz has also shown nationally including Detroit, Washington DC, Baltimore, and Chicago. Her work has also been featured in New American Paintings and in the Art21 blog, and Praxis Makes Perfect. In addition to her studio practice, she teaches painting and drawing at North Seattle College.

I teach continuing education art classes at North Seattle College. When not art making, I love running!

Robin’s studio is accessible.