Robert Florczak
Encyclopedia
Robert Florczak is an American artist
and illustrator
.
Growing up in Bound Brook, New Jersey
and a student at Bound Brook High School
, Florczak was influenced by art teacher Jerry Meatyard. After graduation Florczak attended the Cooper Union
in New York City, studied painting under Will Barnet
, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, was Artist-In-Residence at Widener University
, and taught painting at The Art Institute of Philadelphia. As a professional artist, Florczak has enjoyed an active career that spans more than three decades, with extensive work in the fine art, advertising, entertainment, and publishing fields. Florczak’s original paintings are in the private collections of Mel Gibson
, Michael Jackson
, Whoopi Goldberg
, James Stewart
(now at Princeton University
), and Paul Allen
(co-founder of Microsoft), among others, and in the corporate collections of AT&T
, Random House
and Beecham Pharmaceuticals
.
Florczak’s art is characterized by an avid interest in historical, literary, and mythological themes of drama and romance, and an intimate understanding of the classical methods of the Old Masters. Additionally, his work reflects a passion for the Academic and Victorian narrative painters of the 19th Century, such as Leighton, Bouguereau, and Alma-Tadema, as well as the majestic landscapes of Bierstadt, Church and Moran. Whether working in layers of transparent oil glazes or meticulously rendered pencils and watercolors, Robert brings to his paintings a depth and attention to detail and themes uncommon in contemporary art. His designs and technique have been compared to the classical imagery of the Pre-Raphaelites and have been described as “Caravaggio crossed with Maxfield Parrish.” (School Library Journal, 10/5/95) According to one reviewer, Robert’s landscapes are “reminiscent of ambitious paintings from the Hudson River School.” (Booklist, 5/1/96)
Along with a vast amount of cinema art, posters, album covers, book and magazine illustration, Florczak has produced the artwork for eight published picture books. Florczak’s premiere book, "The Rainbow Bridge" was an American Bookseller Pick of the List. Following were "Rough Sketch Beginning" and "Birdsong". All three books were published by Harcourt. For HarperCollins, Florczak created the art for "The Persian Cinderella"; the book was on the master list for the 2001 Texas Bluebonnet Award. Charles Dickens’ "The Magic Fish-bone" (Harcourt), with Florczak's captivating paintings, was released in 2000. "A Cowboy Christmas" (Simon & Schuster, 2001), was followed by "YIKES!!!", his first self-authored book, which was published by Scholastic's Blue Sky Press, who will also publish his "The Incredibly Coincidental But Amazingly True Life Adventures Of A Boy Named Jack". 2004 saw the publication of "Horses Of Myth" (Dutton) For the Japanese limited edition art market, 2007 saw Florczak's completion of an eight piece series of elaborate oil paintings titled "Romance In Paradise".
As a recording artist, Florczak has performed in nightclubs and concert halls around the country, from New York's famed Bitter End (with writing partner Fred Radzik) to Aspen's Wheeler Opera House. His music has been recorded and released internationally, including the soundtrack he composed and performed for the motion picture Roar, recorded in London with The National Philharmonic Orchestra. In order to portray musically the character of life on the African savanna, while writing the movie score Robert lived on a private game reserve with over 150 wild lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs and elephants. As a promotion for the film, he performed in the video of the movie's title song, "N' Chi Ya Nani (Whose Land Is This?", filmed by famed director, Jan de Bont. Florczak also wrote and starred opposite Tippi Hedren
in the film short Twist, shown theatrically and for Academy consideration.
Florczak resides in Southern California.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
.
Growing up in Bound Brook, New Jersey
Bound Brook, New Jersey
Bound Brook is a borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. At the United States 2010 Census, the population was 10,402.Bound Brook was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 24, 1869, within portions of Bridgewater Township...
and a student at Bound Brook High School
Bound Brook High School
Bound Brook High School is a comprehensive community public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bound Brook, in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States, as part of the Bound Brook School District....
, Florczak was influenced by art teacher Jerry Meatyard. After graduation Florczak attended the Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
in New York City, studied painting under Will Barnet
Will Barnet
Will Barnet is an American artist known for his paintings, watercolors, drawings, and prints depicting the human figure and animals, both in casual scenes of daily life and in transcendent dreamlike worlds.-Biography:...
, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, was Artist-In-Residence at Widener University
Widener University
Widener University is a private, coeducational university located in Chester, Pennsylvania.Its main campus sits on 108 acres , just southwest of Philadelphia...
, and taught painting at The Art Institute of Philadelphia. As a professional artist, Florczak has enjoyed an active career that spans more than three decades, with extensive work in the fine art, advertising, entertainment, and publishing fields. Florczak’s original paintings are in the private collections of Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
, James Stewart
James Stewart (actor)
James Maitland Stewart was an American film and stage actor, known for his distinctive voice and his everyman persona. Over the course of his career, he starred in many films widely considered classics and was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning one in competition and receiving one Lifetime...
(now at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
), and Paul Allen
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates...
(co-founder of Microsoft), among others, and in the corporate collections of AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
and Beecham Pharmaceuticals
Beecham (pharmaceutical company)
Beecham was a British pharmaceutical company. It was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Beecham, after having merged with SmithKline Beckman, merged with GlaxoWellcome to become GlaxoSmithKline .-History:...
.
Florczak’s art is characterized by an avid interest in historical, literary, and mythological themes of drama and romance, and an intimate understanding of the classical methods of the Old Masters. Additionally, his work reflects a passion for the Academic and Victorian narrative painters of the 19th Century, such as Leighton, Bouguereau, and Alma-Tadema, as well as the majestic landscapes of Bierstadt, Church and Moran. Whether working in layers of transparent oil glazes or meticulously rendered pencils and watercolors, Robert brings to his paintings a depth and attention to detail and themes uncommon in contemporary art. His designs and technique have been compared to the classical imagery of the Pre-Raphaelites and have been described as “Caravaggio crossed with Maxfield Parrish.” (School Library Journal, 10/5/95) According to one reviewer, Robert’s landscapes are “reminiscent of ambitious paintings from the Hudson River School.” (Booklist, 5/1/96)
Along with a vast amount of cinema art, posters, album covers, book and magazine illustration, Florczak has produced the artwork for eight published picture books. Florczak’s premiere book, "The Rainbow Bridge" was an American Bookseller Pick of the List. Following were "Rough Sketch Beginning" and "Birdsong". All three books were published by Harcourt. For HarperCollins, Florczak created the art for "The Persian Cinderella"; the book was on the master list for the 2001 Texas Bluebonnet Award. Charles Dickens’ "The Magic Fish-bone" (Harcourt), with Florczak's captivating paintings, was released in 2000. "A Cowboy Christmas" (Simon & Schuster, 2001), was followed by "YIKES!!!", his first self-authored book, which was published by Scholastic's Blue Sky Press, who will also publish his "The Incredibly Coincidental But Amazingly True Life Adventures Of A Boy Named Jack". 2004 saw the publication of "Horses Of Myth" (Dutton) For the Japanese limited edition art market, 2007 saw Florczak's completion of an eight piece series of elaborate oil paintings titled "Romance In Paradise".
As a recording artist, Florczak has performed in nightclubs and concert halls around the country, from New York's famed Bitter End (with writing partner Fred Radzik) to Aspen's Wheeler Opera House. His music has been recorded and released internationally, including the soundtrack he composed and performed for the motion picture Roar, recorded in London with The National Philharmonic Orchestra. In order to portray musically the character of life on the African savanna, while writing the movie score Robert lived on a private game reserve with over 150 wild lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs and elephants. As a promotion for the film, he performed in the video of the movie's title song, "N' Chi Ya Nani (Whose Land Is This?", filmed by famed director, Jan de Bont. Florczak also wrote and starred opposite Tippi Hedren
Tippi Hedren
Nathalie Kay "Tippi" Hedren is an American actress and former fashion model with a career spanning six decades. She is primarily known for her roles in two Alfred Hitchcock films, The Birds and Marnie, and her extensive efforts in animal rescue at Shambala Preserve, an wildlife habitat which she...
in the film short Twist, shown theatrically and for Academy consideration.
Florczak resides in Southern California.