Artist ROBIN FAYE GATES talks about the inspiration behind her work
By Kastle Waserman
PHOTOS COURTESY ROBIN FAYE GATES
Quirky, whimsical, graffiti-style is the best way to describe the art of Robin Faye Gates, who says it’s often a turn of phrase she overhears or simply the bizarreness of everyday things that inspires her work.
The Texas-born artist came to Denver to pursue a career in hotel restaurant management, but after a stint with the Cherry Creek Arts Festival, she realized art was her true calling. She began working as a graphic designer and creating art projects with residential developer Peter Kudla, who encouraged her to think outside the box. “He’s a massive art lover, and we got to do all these crazy projects. He’s been a big mentor for me.”
When Gates’s husband passed away unexpectedly in 2020, she boldly committed to pursue art full-time.
“When something like that happens, you must figure out what’s next. I started thinking: I’m so fortunate to be here. How do I want to spend that time?”
She became a member of Denver’s D’Art Gallery in 2023 and began showing her work. We asked her to describe three of her favorite pieces.
Fast Eddie Slowed Down
“I was working on this piece, and nothing was coming. I ran a brayer roller with black paint up the center. Suddenly, it looks like a tire mark. That made me think of a story when my niece, Jessica, said, ‘Did you know the gas station on the corner sells fried chicken?’
She was so excited about this chicken and told me she had some. So, this piece became the idea of gas station chicken!
“I told my niece, “You are the inspiration for this.'”
She Had Fighter Within
“Most of my stuff has humor or sarcasm. This is probably my only serious piece. It came about after my husband passed away. I was thinking about all the characters you have inside and your different personalities.
I put in a lot of faces that are not complete. They’re impressions of the different things everyone is.
When you lose someone, there’s so much to think about after. Your head is so full of all these different thoughts. I’m an introvert, but the gears in my mind are constantly going and observing.
I realized, in the center, I was more of a fighter than I thought I was.”
Call For Artists
“I bought a pay phone off eBay. I didn’t know what I was going to do with it, but I just liked it. I put it aside for about a year, and every once in a while, I’d glance at it.
It got on my nerves, so I put masking tape on it one day. And that was all I did that day. I made a step. I started it. Then, I decided to make a big move and sawed the receiver in half. Then I wished I hadn’t done that. So, I glued it back together, put tape around it, and wrote, ‘I wish I had not sawed this in half, but that is risk, and that is vital to art.’
That turned out to be one of my favorite things about this piece.
Then I glued on erasers, old supplies and my broken Apple pencil. I wrote my childhood phone number on it. I drilled a big hole for something, but that didn’t work, so I covered it with an old paint tube.
Then I wrote ‘soul’ on it because my heart and soul went into this.
It’s a reminder to take risks.”
Learn more about Gates’ art at robinfayegatesart.com
