Mr. Roberts oil on canvas 82x60 inches
The painting of Mr. Roberts has been getting a lot of attention so we thought we would take today to talk a little bit about the piece.
It was painted in 2009 for Nowak's first solo NYC exhibition with the Hal Bromm Gallery at 90 West Broadway and Chambers Street, NY. Before painting the piece, Nowak had known Mr. Roberts for about seven years. He lived in the same Key West neighborhood, Bahama Village, as her gallery at the time, The Lemonade Stand Art Studio. Almost everyday Roberts would stop in, pulling a hibiscus flower from his matte black bicycle's basket. Inside the studio he would peek his head asking, "Is my friend here?" Then inside he would come handing Nowak her flower for the day. "He was always well dressed in slacks, a button down shirt, and cap" remembers Nowak. "Besides his daily visits to the studio, he would come to all of the openings I had at the gallery as well." Throughout the years Nowak would take photos of Roberts for a painting she knew one day she would make. Sadly, a few months before her Hal Bromm exhibition, Roberts passed away. "When I heard the news, I immediately started his painting," says Nowak. "It was going to be the center piece of my first New York show. Also- recently- almost four years since my Mr. Roberts visits, I was going through a chest of drawers from the Lemonade Stand and found a little piece of paper I had written on. It said, 'Always be happy. Never be sad. You will live a much better life.' -Mr. Roberts."
