Roberta Ann Busard

Hometown: Muskegon, Michigan

Based in: Ann Arbor, Michigan

I was born in Michigan and grew up on Mona Lake and Lake Michigan. With the pursuit of a varied art education I attended six art colleges, including San Francisco Art Institute, Silvermine College of Art, a creative think-tank outside of New York City, in New Canaan, Connecticut, The Art Institute of Boston, Laguna Beach School of Art and Design in California, Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and a number of innovative, alternative places such as the Experimental Etching Studio in Boston and various other independent summer art programs. I earned my BFA from Massachusetts College of Art and my MFA from Wayne State University.
I am a painter and sculptor, and sometimes I have been a dancer as well. I have a lifelong love of working with paper. It has this most exquisite property of absorbing everything. Paint, ink, pigment all combine in its fibers. I am inspired by light and line and texture and find my leaping spaces for art from philosophy, conscious ideas, and motifs that can be reinvented infinitely. When there is an energy in an idea that captures my imagination, I find myself wanting to express that visually. Art as poetry.
I have had the great honor of exhibiting nationally and internationally, having my works acquired in a great number of collections, and winning awards, fellowships, and guest artist residencies. It is a joy for me to share my passion for beauty in this world.

More About Roberta Ann Busard

Question Icon Who are some artists that have influenced your work?

African Art was an instinctual inspiration. Just being with the work is so archetypal. Then I met the Sculptor, Victor A.S. Robinson, my teacher, mentor, and friend, who challanged me as an artist, opened and deepened my world, and introduced me to New York. Modigliani was the first Modern Artist that I loved. Robert Motherwell. These influences continue to inform and inspire me.

Question Icon What is the best piece of advice you have been given?

Victor A.S. Robinson, my first true art teacher, guide, and friend told me, when I was young, that he hoped for all artists, that would wait to exhibit for at least ten years so that they could allow their work to deepen and not get snagged by the first work that was ready. He wanted me to grow. To go further. To experience that deeper well first.

Question Icon Where do you go for inspiration?

Lately, I have been drawn by and to water, and waves. Water holds the mystery. Waves the energy. There is so much that can transform and abstract into art.