Robert Selkirk

ARTIST STATEMENT

Robert Selkirk is a British artist living near Jerusalem since 2008 with his wife and three children. His paintings have been exhibited since 1994 and collected by audiences worldwide.Surrounded by hills and valleys steeped in the ancient past, my landscapes are often inspired by fleeting moments — observing and absorbing the natural play of light. Nature feels like pure magic, bringing clarity and inspiration. My work explores our spiritual connection to the natural world, capturing those transcendent moments of wonder, and the way connecting within ourselves expands outward to the world around us.

INSPIRATION

Turning the Outside Landscape InwardsWhat we are taught in society often reverses true perception. Seen through the lens of ego, reality bends and distorts. Unless we find an inner space of awareness, what is inverted will appear as truth.Most people perceive outwardly — the ego seeking its place in the world — rather than from within, where everything is connected like a web through the heart. We shift between these two states of being. While ego cannot be escaped, its hold can be softened in each moment.Everything outside already exists inside us. As some Native American traditions suggest: the external world is our past, already manifested. The present — the source of creativity — lives within.This way of seeing inspires my work — to reveal the connection between inner experience and the outer world.

The Painting ProCess

My paintings turn the outer landscape inward, creating a bridge to the living present that awakens inner feeling, much like nature itself.Each work begins with the physical landscape as a starting point. From there, I paint spontaneously and intuitively, layering colour and form over months or even years. Transformation lies at the heart of this process: shapes shift, colours evolve, and the canvas becomes a reflection of immersion in the moment.The canvas is where the physical meets the spiritual — the seen and the unseen. My paintings open a space for that hidden presence to emerge.A quiet magic unfolds within the work, revealing itself in the painting.

Showing the organic process evolving over time.
Painted from 11 March 2025 to September 8 2025.
15 layers total. Oil on canvas.

EXHIBITIONS

Open Studio exhibition, Jerusalem April 1923
Jerusalem Theatre, January 2020
Open Studio exhibition, Jerusalem May 1919
HarAdar open house 2018
Summer exhibition, McNeill Gallery, Hertfordshire 2017
HarAdar open house 2015
Summer exhibition, McNeill Gallery, Hertfordshire 2014
Studio Caneti, Jafa, Tel Aviv, group exhibition, June 2013
Culture Centre, Ariel, May 2013
Jerusalem Theatre, April 2012
Summer exhibition, McNeill Gallery, Hertfordshire 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011 Group exhibition, Melbourne Festival, Derbyshire 2007
Ticknall Summer exhibition, Derbyshire 2007
Ingleby Gallery, Derbyshire 2007
Ferrers Gallery, Derbyshire 2007
Spring exhibition, McNeill Gallery, Hertfordshire 2006, 2007
Royal Birmingham Society of Artists - Friends exhibition 2007
Group exhibition, Melbourne Festival, Derbyshire 2005, 2006
Spring exhibition, Nutley Gallery, Reigate 2005
Summer exhibition, Clairmont Gallery, Brighton 2001, 2002
Summer exhibition, Northcote Gallery, Clapham, London 1996, 1998 Christmas exhibition, Northcote Gallery, Clapham, London 1997
Group exhibition, Turtle Key Arts Centre, Fulham, London 1996 Wimbledon Gallery, joint exhibition with artist Neil Hague 1995