Robby J

Artist Biography:

 

In 2015, Robby suffered cardiac arrest and was clinically dead for 20 minutes, resulting in an anoxic brain injury. Doctors were unsure if he would ever walk or talk again. After a year in the hospital and extensive therapy, he relearned basic skills and now lives in Cobourg with his wife.

 

Born in Halifax and raised in Cobourg, Robby dreamed of becoming a professional hockey player. He trained hard, eventually shifting his passion to bodybuilding, where he competed for years, earned several titles, and became a certified personal trainer. In 1997, he moved to Toronto to pursue a fitness career.

In 2000, Robby redirected his focus to art, enrolling in art school and studying painting, sculpture, and art history. He expanded his learning through travel across North America and Europe. His abstract expressionist work, created with oils and palette knives, has been exhibited widely and collected internationally.

A former daily writer, Robby resumed storytelling during recovery by dictating his thoughts, which rekindled his creativity and led him back to painting.

“Following my heart attack and brain injury, I lost my creative voice for both my writing and painting.  With the help of therapists I was finally able to connect with my writing again.   They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so when I couldn’t create pictures, I started using words. It was able to re-connect with the creativity of telling stories and that enabled me to approach my painting again. Picking up a paint brush was like a best friend who you haven’t seen for ages coming back into your life. All of a sudden, I have a new lust for life. Painting is now a need for me, like air.  If there came a day when someone said I couldn’t paint anymore, I’d be lost.  An artist has to create.”