Biography

Commercial Advertising Arts
For over 20 years Holbrook worked in commercial art as a layout artist, graphic designer, pictorial artist, and art director. His insight of color and composition from the layout of design to the production of hand-painted realism for billboards and advertising, earned Holbrook the experience to make the inevitable transition from the old school of hand-craftsmanship to the age of digital technologies.

While many designers and pictorial artists were being replaced by these technologies. Holbrook was determined not to let that happen to him as a artist. He soon learned what he had always appreciated from the old school of hand-craftsmanship would make for a highly successful combination when thrown into the mix of the digital technologies. Anyone can run a computer, but not everyone could compose effective designs. It still required Craftsmanship. This skill earned him a position as a art director for a multi-periodical magazine publisher. Working on high-profile sports and entertainment projects. One of the best rewards I received was the memories that were-triggered - the reflections of the adventures I had growing up. To realize the path I had taken, only seemed to be a natural one, that dreams aren't just dreams-they're attainable.

The Fine Arts
Our society is greatly affected by history and special moments in time that affect each of us individually, Raymond Holbrook captures that individuality in his art, his art is truly American. The authenticity of Holbrook's design is not without purpose - the relationship between the viewer and the art is always a primary element. It takes old fashioned craftsmanship, the kind of craftsmanship that allows art to endure. It's the acknowledgment of the subject & the viewer, it's quality, it's effective composition, color & design, and most importantly, it is the humbled knowledge, along with the experience of how all of these tools are applied, that permits art to endure.

A native of Sioux City Iowa, USA Holbrook studied art from a early age. A self-taught artist, Raymond Holbrook attributes his skills and craftsmanship to the studies of the most time honored school in the world, The School of Experience, a school for which he says that for the first few years, humility is its main curriculum. Since childhood, Holbrook has always been inspired by artists like Rembrandt, Andrew Wyeth, and Winslow Homer. As a child he continually had a pencil or a brush in hand, challenging himself, while with the highest of standards, being his own worst critic. He says: Painting was a very private thing, something I rarely shared with others. In retrospect, it felt as if it was one of the few things that was private in my childhood. It took me on nostalgic adventures, and it still does.

art home | art galleries | artist biography | art commissions | contact the artist | advertising arts