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Hello. I’m Robert J. White. This picture you see to the left is of me; manipulated in Photoshop. There’s some more pictures further down of when I’m not floating in space. If you’d like to skip straight to my artist statement or contact info (as this is a fairly long bio), you can use the nav links up top.
All that aside, I go by Bob, normally. I’ve also gone by Bobby, Rob, Robert, or any other derivation of my name; I’m not very particular. I’m a Miami native; I’ve lived here all my life. Excepting, of course, the four years, where I was attending Florida State University in Tallahassee.
There, I majored in Studio Art, with a concentration in graphic design. I discovered in high school during an elective graphic design course that I really enjoyed it, and so it became my study topic of choice. I also did some freelance work for a few years while in FSU. I graduated in 2007 with a 3.49 GPA under my belt.
My artist statement below explains how I feel about art, and I’d rather not make you read the same thing twice. But I will say here that the act of creating is my passion in life. I like to create things, and that is what causes me to choose many of the activities I partake of in my spare time.
For the past several months, I have been working with my dad. Explaining what he does to someone who has never seen the sort of work done is difficult; but it can be summarized as him providing business solutions. He deals in Sage Software, fixes problems, all sorts of random things. My end was involved more in updating customers with what the company was doing, helping prepare presentations, and so on. I also was involved some with sales. This is what I'm currently doing.
In my free time, I draw, I design creatures, logos, ships, and characters for a book I’m writing. I like to play video games, but more than that, I truly enjoy games that allow you the flexibility of making your own character; such as in City of Heroes/City of Villains, where you create a character, make their costume, choose their powers, and write them a biography if you like. I also enjoyed games like The Sims, and Sim City where you created your own “characters” -insofar as a city can be a character- to control and play with. I also enjoy building and deisgning items in the virtual world of Second Life.
Then of course, there are the standard young adult activities; watching movies, hanging out with friends, watching TV, and listening to music.
I’m always listening to music. Driving. Drawing. Playing games. Cooking. Eating. Fighting the Phoenicians. The only time I semi-regularly turn the music off is when I’m writing or reading. I listen to primarily metal and industrial, but I listen to a wide range of other music including orchestral, a bit of ambient, a bit of rap, a bit of techno, a bit of rock; a bit of everything. The music helps facilitate my creative faculties when I’m making a piece.
I tend to get along well with most different people; in high school I never really had a “crowd”; I hung out with rapper wannabes, the rock subculture, the preps, everyone. And it was the same way in college. I am charismatic and I got along with just about everyone; I could never claim I had enemies. I believe it is much more valuable, and satisfying, to make friends than enemies, no matter how much you might want to spite someone. I also believe in communication and honesty, and that is one reason why I believe I got along well with people.
I also hold in a very high regard having a sense of humor. There are a select group of people who are sorely lacking this facility. And I have no idea how they can go through life. I love to make stupid jokes, and I am often sarcastic. I believe that there is humor in nearly everything, and a sense of humor is necessary for most people to remain sane in this world.
But I take my work very seriously. In college I often stayed up for forty to fifty hours at a stretch when it was necessary to bring multiple projects to their conclusion. I know many have stayed up for longer times, but there was a gloriously excruciating period where I was awake for 66 hours; near three days trying to finish about five different projects to satisfaction before their due date. When I needed to, I sacrificed sleep and bits of my sanity completing projects to where I was satisfied. It went against my very fabric, tugged at my conscience the few times I had to turn in an assignment where I “Just did the assignment”. I have incredible difficulty doing that. I want to create, not just finish an assignment. Though I didn't like it, though, I did swallow my pride on those occasions where it was absolutely necessary.
Ah, but all melodrama aside, and without a real segue, I’d like to conclude by saying that I’m ready and willing to work with others to design creative projects and keep people laughing along the way. I am Robert White. And I am an artist.
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My name is Robert J. White. I am driven by creation.
That is what I think about when I make my pieces. Whether for myself or for a friend or as a commission, I enjoy creating things. That is my passion in life; even when I’m not working I’m normally doing something that involves creating things. Be it writing, drawing, or playing a game with custom characters.
My goals in my art are simple; I normally don’t put pretentious messages in my art. I normally don’t design something incredibly complex. My goal with most of my art is simply to make something cool and interesting. To have someone look at my piece and appreciate it, even if it’s only for a few moments.
I enjoy making original pieces that people will enjoy looking at. I try to use honest, simpler themes in my art simply because people understand them faster and get the message quicker.
People nowadays are bombarded from every angle constantly by pieces of design and messages which are all competing for bits and scraps of their attention. My philosophy is that something elegantly simple will imprint itself more readily in the memory of the viewer. They will remember it better and therefore, give it more consideration even after seeing the piece.
I consider myself an artist first and then a Graphic Designer. I have worked in many mediums and I’m rather good with a number of them. I’m a jack of all trades. But my Graphic Design is the best, and the one I enjoy the most.
And that is why I create my art and that is why I do it the way I do.
Robert J. White
Click here for a Word Document resume.
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