We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nadine Robbins a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Nadine, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

2023: A portrait of the legendary Audrey Flack

I photographed and painted a portrait of Audrey Flack (http://www.audreyflack.com), the matriarch of Photorealism.

It was a long time coming and could have been sooner, but I lacked the confidence to approach her. It was easier to ask others passively for an introduction.

But as luck would have it, after listening to the Art Grind podcast where Audrey was being interviewed, I reached out to the interviewer to introduce me to her via an Instagram message. Months went by, and there was no response. I was finished being passive, and when I got an email invite to attend an awards ceremony for Audrey Flack at the Players Club in NYC, I decided to go and ask her directly.

With my good friend and wingwoman Joyce, we entered the club, and there she was. I swallowed hard and started sweating, but I went over to her, congratulated her, and asked if I could paint her portrait. She thanked me and said to talk to her assistant, Sevi, and pointed him out to me.
Before I lost my nerve, I introduced myself and asked him if I could paint Audrey. He said he had seen my messages, checked me out online, and liked my work. He mentioned that a well-known male artist wanted to paint her, and without missing a beat, Joyce said, “But he’s a man.” You have to love Joyce.

I spoke to Sevi about being a woman with few connections in the art industry. So far, I had made my way mostly alone and had some street cred, and he agreed. He showed me a picture of Audrey and asked if this would be a good image to work with. I said I prefer to photograph her myself. He gave me his number and said let’s text more about this.

My friend and I enjoyed the rest of the evening hearing about the awardees, The Andy Warhol Foundation and Audrey Flack, for their lifetime support of the Artist’s Fellowship. This private charitable foundation financially assists professional visual artists and their families in times of emergency, disability, or grief.

After what seemed like months, it was only a few weeks, I received a text from Sevi about setting up a date for a visit and photoshoot in May of 2023. YES!

My friend and fellow realist painter Andrea Alvin told me once that if I ever photographed Audrey, I had better bring her along. A few days before the shoot, I called my friend and said, “Don’t ask me where we are going, but we need to go to the city for a secret adventure.” As I’m terrible at keeping secrets like this one, I didn’t last beyond the phone call when I told her. She was ecstatic.

On the day of the photoshoot, we went to Audrey’s Upper East Side studio and sat down to talk to her and Sevi while I shot my images. We talked about cameras and why she painted so large. I was so nervous I could barely recall what I said. I moaned about the misogyny in the art world and some of my experiences. Which she very much related to.

Thirty minutes later, I was looking at the photos with her, and I knew which one I wanted to use as my reference photo for the painting, but would she pick the same one? She did and said, “I’m done.” We wrapped up the session, said our goodbyes, and I left, hoping to meet her again to reveal the portrait to her and continue our chat.

I kept most of this adventure to myself until I went to my gallery’s, Anthony Brunelli Fine Arts, 20th-anniversary party. They suspected I photographed her because of an Instagram photo of Audrey, Andrea, and me, but that was all they knew. I enjoyed delivering the news to them and some art collectors at the party that I would paint a portrait of her.

Fast forward to mid-November 2023, when I finished Audrey’s portrait painting. I knew it was an important painting once I started. Although I felt lots of pressure, I took my time to carefully represent the matriarch of Photorealism with dignity, grace, and a little bit of defiance.

I painted her portrait for four months and shared only a few work-in-progress photos with Audrey, Sevi, and my gallery. Once I finished, I sent everyone a high-rez file of the painting. When my gallery saw the picture of the final painting, they invited me to show it at Context Art Miami.

After sending the same jpeg to Audrey on IG, I received a message from Audrey that I cherish, and it keeps me painting on those days when it’s not easy to be an artist:

Dear Nadine,
Thanks for sending the portrait you did of me. It’s a terrific painting and I’ve been getting lots of nice feedback on it.Mystudio manager says you’ve really captured my smirk and personality beautifully. Congratulations and enjoy Art Miami.
Sending love, Audrey

Heading to the Miami art fairs is always fun, but it was extra special this time because I had a large portrait, front and center, of the matriarch of Photorealism. On the fair’s last day, a well-known collector purchased the painting, and my gallery installed it in their Miami home the next day.

Although this acquisition was fantastic, It left me with a dilemma on how to get Audrey to see the portrait because she most likely would want to. So I asked my gallery if they thought the collector would be interested in showing it to her, and he responded that they would most likely love to. In the back of my mind, I started planning how to get Audrey to Miami. Do I fly her down to Miami? Can she fly at her age? Who else may want to come? So many exciting questions.

But it wasn’t meant to be. Audrey Flack passed away suddenly at the tender age of 93 on June 28, 2024.

I learned about her passing while scrolling on my phone in the backseat of my car coming home from Cape Cod. My husband and son were in the front seats chatting away as I read her long time friend Louis Meisel’s Instagram post. I started to cry. How unfair that in the middle of her finally having her way past due moment as a female in the art world, she passed away.

The title of her recent memoir, “With Darkness Came Stars,” was filled with stories of joy and sadness that always seemed to happen in parallel. Why would her untimely death be any different?

It strangely makes sense, but it doesn’t make it easier to lose an artistic pioneer like Audrey Flack. How could someone I barely knew make me so emotional upon finding out about her death?

Her Instagram profile says, “Artist, Mother, Teacher, Rebel.” She personified every one of these words. Upon reflection, I have a few words to describe her that may explain my emotional reaction. Meeting an Artist like Audrey Flack was a dream that I made into a reality because she was generous, accessible, passionate, genuine, candid, inspiring, and witty. She is the rebel I desire to be. I want to use the term in my Instagram profile bio, but it must still be Audrey’s.

Audrey Flack was an artistic superhero on many levels and impacted everyone around her. At the opening of her final show, “With Darkness Came Stars,” this past March at the Hollis Taggart Gallery in New York City, the people were a mix of friends, family, and groupies, all buzzing with excitement over the new paintings and telling warm stories about their connection to her. It was magical, and I’m so happy to have been there to experience it. Sadly, her last words were, “I want to see that portrait.”

It was generous of her to make herself accessible so I could paint her portrait. She didn’t have to say yes to someone she didn’t know but did so because she was Audrey. Her portrait is as sincere a painting as I’ve ever painted.

I’m honored to have met and painted her portrait. I hope that wherever she is, she is with her late husband, Robert Marcus, painting large canvases of pop rococo superheroes and giving everyone hell. Rest in peace, Audrey.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I redefine the art of portraiture through my custom commissions. I blend traditional techniques with a contemporary perspective to create works of art that are timeless and uniquely relevant to modern collectors.

One key reason for my success is the trust I build with my clients. This trust translates into a deep emotional connection I strive to create with each individual. My work reinventing portraiture for the modern age transforms moments into masterpieces.

I work exclusively from my photography, and each commission begins with a consultation to understand my clients and their vision. The following photoshoot captures candid, emotionally engaging, and sometimes humorous moments, which I refine to enhance composition, resolution, and saturation. From there, I transition to painting, employing traditional atelier techniques, including pencil sketches, underpaintings, and layer upon layer of oil pigment to achieve lifelike textures and vibrant tones.

An original painting by me offers timeless value, especially in a world increasingly dominated by digital art and fleeting trends. Each commission is an intimate collaboration that ensures the final work reflects the individuality and unique story of the subject.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

In 2018, I was forced to reevaluate my art career. After an inflammation reaction to a flu vaccine, I was left with a severe eye injury that left me almost blind in one eye. I was terrified but focused on my recuperation. After a few months, I tried to paint as before; not only was it too taxing on my one healthy eye, but I found that every time I put a stroke on the canvas, I hit it before I intended to. The loss of depth perception caused this. I was devastated on so many levels.

However, as is my nature, instead of wallowing in self-pity, I began experimenting with new techniques to discover a way to make it easier to paint long hours yet remain in my hyperrealism genre. I embraced what happened when I was painting as the possibility of a new technique of dots and lines that didn’t require as much precision.

After months of retraining my eye and skills, I ended up painting one of my best works to date, Just Try and Stop Me, which renewed my faith that I’d be able to remain a hyperrealist.

It is incredible how this obstacle ended up being the way to break through creatively and boost my career.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

There is so much media about creativity that it’s hard to mention only a few. Personally, I’ve found books on communication to have been the most helpful. My philosophy as an artist is that if you cannot talk about your work with confidence, network, and demand respect from people and the industry, then failure is probably unavoidable. I know it sounds harsh, but I speak from experience.

2 books I recently read that have been very rewarding:
The Creative Act: A Way of Being Book, by Rick Rubin.
It’s filled with so many creative prompts that will get your creativity on! Some are unrealistic, but there are many golden nuggets upon which to reflect.

The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.
Today’s world is full of individuals who will lie, cheat, and steal to take your clothes off your back. Greene’s philosophy is that power is a fundamental aspect of human society, and those who understand its dynamics are better equipped to navigate the complexities of social and professional life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.nadinerobbinsart.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nadinerobbinsartist/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadinerobbins/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTbccXB2QjP8F6dtpugd7AQ
• Other: Email: [email protected] Phone: 845-233-0082

Image Credits
The images of me are by photographer Franco Vogt at https://francovogt.com.<br>