Wesley Gallery proudly offers images by Roberta Wesley in fine art Lithographs,
and Premium Canvas Giclées.
For Roberta Wesley, the opening of Wesley Gallery represented a return home.
Roberta was born in Happy, Texas but has spent most of her adult life living out of state, exploring the diversity of our country. For the past several years she has worked out of Huntsville, Alabama. "I love the romance of the South" she says, "but I have loved and been inspired by every place I've lived. "
Roberta's return to Texas also marks her return to a retail gallery. Wesley Prints, Inc. has long been a premium wholesale art company, supplying Roberta Wesley's work to frame shops and galleries across the country and beyond. While she intends to continue her wholesale operation, she is looking forward to the intimacy of a local gallery. "I found I missed the creative interaction with other artists and art patrons. Now I hope to have the best of both worlds," she laughs. "Besides, this gallery will give me the opportunity to work with my son, Jim. It's a win-win situation!"
The artist finished her first oil painting at age 12. She was born to rural schoolteachers in Happy, Texas, and grew up in neighboring small towns. She attended three Texas Universities before receiving her degree in art, then returned for further study at yet another of the state's great universities. Long before the world had heard of Roberta Wesley, during her time in Austin at the University of Texas, the artist's career was given a boost from some well-known Texans. Among them, Lady Bird Johnson purchased paintings for the Johnson Ranch. And Roberta's most memorable and challenging commission came from Mary Alice Shivers, wife of the former Governor. She asked the artist to paint Governor Shiver's face on a huge egg for the famed Neiman Marcus' Easter display. "Fun, but not easy!"
In the sixties, Roberta found success in the galleries of Taos, New Mexico, and, soon after, moved to that famous art colony. Since that time she has lived in widely diverse areas of the United States and traveled extensively. As demand for her paintings grew through associations with some of the finest galleries across America, she began to understand that success could be both a blessing and a curse. There seemed to be constant pressure to "slightly modify and repaint" the same most popular subjects. She began to feel she was on a "factory assembly line". Although grateful for this long awaited financial security, she longed for the excitement and risk of new creation. What to do?
A solution seemed available through print publishing. This has allowed Roberta freedom to fully develop and detail subjects that interest her, and then move on to the excitement of new inspiration: "In my mind, reproductions allow me to offer less repetitious art, work filled with the energy of new ideas."
Wesley Gallery is a showcase for Roberta Wesley's line of true canvas giclées. These fine reproductions are printed one at a time under Roberta's supervision and are virtually indistinguishable from her original paintings. "Giclées have revolutionized the art business" she enthused. "We are able to print our giclées in a variety of sizes without incurring the expense of printing a large edition. It allows us to offer our customers the beauty of an oil painting at a price they can afford."
Stop by Wesley Gallery to experience the beauty of Roberta Wesley's work in person, or view her complete line of prints and canvases online at her Wesley Prints Web Gallery.