Bob Friedenberg

Bob’s Artist Statement

I started drawing in college while pursuing my doctorate in theoretical nuclear physics. It’s been a lifelong hobby and now a concentrated passion to record and manipulate my mind’s wanderings.

My work is a collection of very detailed black & white pen & ink drawings all inked entirely by hand using a .25mm Rapidograph. I have only used a .25mm Rapidograph since 1971. My work covers a variety of themes ranging from nature, animals, and scenery; to machinery, musical instruments, and vehicles; to space, science fiction, and fantasy.

The smaller pictures embedded in my drawings are an essential component of my work. Aside from the unique texture they provide, they are unplanned and result from a stream of consciousness: I don’t know what I’m drawing until I start drawing it. Visitors are always amazed watching the process at shows or when I have gallery shifts.

Additionally, I replicate the equations from my PhD dissertation as graphics. The moon in “Wolf Wannabe” and the stitching in the sails of “Sailing Eternity” are composed entirely of equations. I don’t know what they mean any longer, but I think they look cool.

The idea is to keep you looking and always finding something new.