Porsche Palm Springs is excited to have world-class painter Beau Robinson’s work featured here as part of our celebration of the city’s Modernism Week, Feb. 17-27. If there ever was a Porsche artist, it’s Beau. A lifelong fan of fast cars and Steve McQueen, Beau cultivated his love for art by immersing himself in the world of Porsche. Working with a variety of mediums, including acrylic, watercolor, and pen and ink, he seeks to capture the feeling of motion in his work.
He will show his art in our Porsche Center from Feb. 11 through Feb. 19. His show also aligns with the Palm Springs Fine Art Introspect Feb. 10 through 13.
We’ll be offering drinks and small bites as part of the show throughout the day on Feb. 11 and 12 as well as Feb. 18 and 19. Come join us at the Porsche Platz as we celebrate these events with Beau’s incredible paintings of Porsche cars.
Beau lives and works in a beach city in Southern California with his fiancé – just a few blocks from the ocean. He has a deep family connection to Palm Springs through his aunt, who was also a fine artist and showed her work in local galleries in the 1980s under the name Raejeanne. Among other things, Beau’s work has been shown at the Porsche Experience Center, Sofitel, and the PCA Concours D’ Elegance.
We decided to chat with Beau and find out more about him before his work lands at Porsche Palm Springs next month.
Can you tell us about yourself and describe your mission as a fine artist?
My name is Beau Robinson and I am 50 years old. I live in Southern California, where I start my day surfing. I have two grown children, a girl, and boy, ages 29 and 24, and they live in Austin Texas. I spent most of my career in construction, kitchen, and bath design as well as real estate and I trained/taught martial arts. I had always planned to one day make martial arts my full-time focus. I hold multiple black belts in modern and traditional martial arts and am a second-generation student of Bruce Lee. But life takes some interesting twists and turns. Today, my mission is to create automotive-themed fine art that is hung in the front room and not the garage.
How did you become an artist?
I closed a few businesses back in 2008 and had back surgery in 2009 – so I was a bit lost at the time. I was broke and broken and decided to move back to California where I grew up. I had lived in Seattle for 20 years and always missed the beach. When I returned to CA I was still in physical therapy for my back and spent the first few months rehabbing it by walking the beach on the sand and strand. During my recovery, I started drawing and painting – all mediums. I was working in a few bars, usually as a host/bouncer so I could spend that time on my feet instead of sitting which was still very difficult. Writing beer lists and drawing cartoons on bar chalkboards got me used to people watching me work, commenting on my work, and having to look at it and see every mistake the entire shift. I would draw and paint anything that I found interesting. I had no formal training so I was learning composition, shading, color theory, storytelling etc., through trial and error. But I also had the freedom of having no rules. The work started selling locally and I organized a few shows bringing in other artists.
How did you get into painting Porsches?
I have three original 356 Porsches on my street and would take plenty of pictures of them each day as I walked through the neighborhood. My fiancé was starting a new position in a new facility and from past experience, I knew this would mean a year of long days and crazy schedules that would make it ideal for me to just paint. I stacked up 60-plus pieces of Porsche-themed paintings, both acrylic on canvas and watercolor on paper. I had a chance to rewrite my future and painting the things that excited me was a freedom I now had in my new pursuit. I had no idea that I would find painting in my 40’s and pursue it full time having so much fun. I loved the beach culture of California and Porsche is very much a part of that. My subject matter ranges from pop art, shark and octopus, nudes, and Porsche. In fact, about 90 percent of my work is Porsche.
And were you able to bring your work directly to Porsche?
I began actively seeking a place to show the work and eventually held a solo show at the Porsche Experience Center where I debuted these pieces to the public, including a large unveiling of the Pink Pig 911 RSR. I felt honored to pull off that special covering with the big Porsche crest on it and show a roomful of Porsche people my newest piece. The following year I held shows for Porsche France, and the Concours d’ Elegance event for PCA. After a pause in shows over the last two years, I was approached by Porsche Cars North America and asked to submit a proposal and mockup for an art car. I had something in mind already and had been searching for a car to paint and it found me. The canvas would be a new white Porsche Taycan. My design was selected from a handful of artists, and I completed the DNA Art Car live in front of a crowd at PECLA’s 5 year anniversary event.
Any exciting plans for the future?
I am always painting, if not on canvas then in my head. I have so many pieces in my mind I haven’t had a chance to paint yet, and that drives me to get them out and make room for more. I connected with Porsche Palm Springs because we spend time there every year and always stop in to say hello and take photos. It took a few years to figure out how to create an event that would be beneficial for all parties and Intersect/Modernism seemed a great fit. My aunt was a professional artist and got her start by showing in the galleries of Palm Springs, and I had a sentimental vision of following her path in this area. Most of my work is shown locally near the city where I live. Social media has been where I get the most interest in my work. I found a family and a source of endless inspiration in Porsche. I would love to eventually make it into Christophorus Magazine, collaborate with Porsche on shoes and a watch, and continue to work with Porsche Cars North America on future projects.
Interested in purchasing one of his pieces? You can reach out to Beau through his website at www.therealbeaurobinson.com or on Instagram and Facebook at @therealbeaurobinson.
