OCTOBER 20, 2016 // 9
Visual arts, literature,
theater, music & more
Born to
paint
Astoria artist Robert
Paulmenn has worked to
re-establish his painting skills
By DWIGHT CASWELL
F
Few artists build a paint-
ing like Robert Paulmenn
does. His work is exqui-
sitely composed, the colors
deep and vibrant. Paulmenn
seems to have been born to
paint but was sidetracked for
many years before returning
to art.
Having drawn since
childhood, “to occupy
myself when I was alone,”
Paulmenn decided that the
usual college was not for
him and went instead to du-
Cret School of Arts in New
Jersey. There, he principally
studied sculpture, which led
to work as a sculptor and
mold maker for an amuse-
ment park. He then began
painting large backdrops,
fl ats and set pieces for mu-
sical theater, reinvigorating
his interest in painting and
requiring further education.
In the 1960s university
art programs were domi-
nated, Paulmenn says, “by
abstract expressionism and
non-realistic painting. They
were discarding proven
techniques developed over
500 years. That’s not what I
wanted.” He moved to New
York and enrolled at the Art
Students League, one of the
premier art schools in the
nation since its inception
in 1875. He studied with
Daniel Green and Harvey
Dinnerstein, modern Ameri-
can masters of fi gurative art,
PHOTOS BY DWIGHT CASWELL
Above: Painter Robert Paulmenn stands next to his oil painting “Reclining Nude” and the paint-
ing’s preliminary graphite study at RiverSea Gallery in Astoria.
Top left: This detail of Robert Paulmenn’s painting “Reclining Nude” shows the broken brush-
work used that gives an impression of light and delicate shading from farther away.
Left: Artist Robert Paulmenn stands with his painting “Who Are You?” at RiverSea Gallery in
Astoria.
LEARN FROM THE ARTIST
and Ronald Sherr, arguably
the best fi gurative and por-
trait painter in the country,
became a friend. Paulmenn
learned how to build a paint-
ing, “from the inside out.”
He next found himself in
Lake City, Colorado, altitude
8,700 feet, working as a chef
and carpenter. This odyssey
may have taken him from
painting, but it brought him
to a relationship. Writer and
poet Mary Lou McAuley,
now his wife, came from a
small town in Oregon called
Cannon Beach.
The couple left the cold
winters of Colorado for Ban-
don and then Ashland, where
they operated restaurants,
before moving to Astoria
three years ago. Here, Paul-
menn says, “I re-established
my painting skills. It was a
long process.” When he was
young he would try anything.
Now, years later, “I had to
think about the process.”
Paulmenn learned to paint
again. “Technique,” he says,
“is the easier part. Finding
Robert Paulmenn teaches an ongoing painting
class at Astoria Art Loft, located at 106 Third
St., from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday mornings.
Drop-ins are welcome. For further information
call 503-325-4442.
what’s the important thing in
a painting, what to empha-
size or de-emphasize, how to
simplify, essentially by elim-
inating detail — I still have
a lot to learn.” The way he
describes his process sounds
much simpler than it is: “I
get an idea, and I work from
there. I look at something to
see how it balances, and I’m
not afraid to make mistakes.”
Paulmenn uses Notan,
a Japanese design theory
involving the interplay and
placement of light and dark
elements in a composition.
“A black and white drawing
is broken down into simple
shapes,” Paulmenn explains.
“You can see it clearly, and
you go from there. It’s a
great tool.”
“Every painting evolves
differently,” Paulmenn says,
“from different ideas and
subjects, and subject matter
can dictate style.”
A painting in his recent
show at RiverSea Gallery in
Astoria, “Who Are You?,” is
of one model painted in three
poses, “a different look than
originally conceived.” Anoth-
er painting from that show,
“Reclining Nude,” uses
broken brushwork to recreate
the effect of his graphite
study of the subject. The
brushwork all but disappears
from a few feet away, leaving
an impression of light and
delicate shading.
“I’m trying different
things,” says Robert Paul-
menn. “I’m always looking
for another way to approach
a painting, to make it better.”