Art Comes Naturally for Robert Mueller

For more than 50 years, Robert Mueller, a member of the , painted in watercolors, often focusing on landscapes. Three years ago, he began experimenting with pastels and portraits, an unusual move for such an artist.

“He’s changing his whole style later in life,” said Ruthann Farinacci, president of the center’s board of directors. “Most people that I know stick with what they know and what they do.”

Those around him are quick to share how impressed they are, not just with the switch at age 89 but also how quickly he’s picked up a talent for it. Mueller doesn’t appear to give it much thought.

“I knew the [pastels] teacher, and I had promised her years ago I would take her class,” he said. “I finally did.”

Mueller, 91, works quietly in the second-floor studio of the center at 3432 Babcock Boulevard for two hours or so every Tuesday on pastels and every Thursday on watercolors. He finishes about one piece each week. Besides the landscapes and his interpretations of images from magazines that strike him, he completed portraits of his wife, every one of his seven sons and daughers-in-laws and all 17 grandchildren.  

Two of his most recent pieces, “King Lear” and “Laurel Creek” are hanging in the lobby of the center as part of the regional show that continues through Wednesday, June 15.

“Robert’s piece is amazing,” said Liz Tafel, the center’s office manager, as she looked at “King Lear.”

Inspiration for that piece came from an image, likely originally published in LIFE magazine, that caught his eye because of the expression on the man’s face.

“The viciousness just struck me, like he’s waiting to tell someone something,” Mueller said.

The imagery for "Laurel Creek," on the other hand, came from somewhere inside.

“Sometimes I have to say they just come from memory,” he said. “Sometimes the quicker you make a painting, the fresher [the memories] are.”

Mueller graduated in 1942 with a degree in landscape architecture from Penn State University, where his passion for watercolor started, he said. For about 35 years he managed a landscaping firm, Robert Mueller Associates, before retiring. He lives in the Ingomar area of McCandless with his wife, Marie.

Those who work with him in the open studio sessions at the arts center say his dedication and talent are inspiring.

Beverly Jordan, 66, of Ross, said “the older he gets, the better he gets.”

Mueller’s pieces and those of others entered into the regional show can be viewed for free from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday at the North Hills Art Center. Members of the art center can participate in informal gatherings of artists working on paintings and drawings from 9 a.m. till noon Thursdays and those working on pastels from 9 a.m. till noon Tuesdays.