We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Robin Damore. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Robin below.

Robin , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I recently had a portrait purchased by the Smithsonian for the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. – “Live Long and Prosper – Nichelle Nichols, Star Trek’s Lt Uhura at 84.

Before I was a portrait painter, I was a photographer. I was hired to photograph a collection of subjects for a book. Nichelle Nichols, who played Lt Uhura on the original Star Trek, was one of the subjects. I knew of her but did not watch Star Trek so was not a fan.

I flew to her home outside of Los Angeles and spent the afternoon with her, she was 72. For some reason she liked me, perhaps because I was just interested in her and didn’t really know about her celebrity. I liked one of the photos I took of her so much that I decided to paint it. I had been painting portraits for about 4 years at the time. I took the painting with me to several art shows and was surprised by how many people recognized her and how amazed they were that I had met her. Thousands of people recognized her – I had no idea she was so beloved.

I thought I would share the painting with her. Her sister was in town and I showed it to her. She said, candidly, “It’s a lovely painting but she won’t like the way her neck looks in the painting – she always has her image airbrushed.” So I decided I would not show it to Nichelle.

Twelve years passed and Nichelle was coming to my town for Comic-con. I called her sister, I said, “You probably won’t remember me, but I did this painting of Nichelle, 12 years ago.” She stopped me and said. “I remember you and what I said about the painting. That won’t matter to her now, she had a small stroke a year ago and she cares about different things now. Also, she is 12 years older and we all like how we looked 12 years ago.”

That evening, I picked Nichelle and her caregiver up from her hotel and brought them to my studio. I unveiled the painting and she cried and was deeply moved by the painting. I had brought dinner into the studio and we sat down for dinner and conversation. Nichelle said, “Oh is there a painting?” – she had no short term memory. I unveiled it for her 6 times that evening and each time she saw it for the first time with the same response. It was bittersweet because as the artist I got to experience the unveiling anew each time along with her, but there was the lingering sadness that this wonderful evening would be gone from her memory before she left the studio. She could remember all about her time working on Star Trek and could participate in Star Trek panel discussions but could not tell you what town she was in.

While she was at the studio, I photographed her again. I had a turquoise and gold pashmina that I had brought back from Prague. It matched the large turquoise ring she always wore. She draped it around her and I was able to capture her looking quite royal and wise, as she gave me a subtle “live long and prosper” hand signal. I like to say she “stole” that pashmina from me when she left, but in truth, when she said she wanted it, I had to agree that it was meant to be hers. The next night she invited me for dinner and I went to her hotel. She was not feeling well and was felt chilled. I had my laptop with me. We got under the covers together, we looked at the photos from the day before and she chose her favorites.

I decided to paint her favorite – mainly for me. When I posted the painting on facebook it went viral and had 160,000 likes with 50,000 shares. Many people inquired about getting copies. I partnered with Nichelle and she sold limited edition fine art copies with both of our signatures on her website.
She did a video where she signed copies and talked about how much she loved the painting.

I delivered the first painting of her at 72 to her at her home and of course, once again, she was seeing it for the first time. My son was with me and recorded video. I posted that unveiling video on Facebook and it went viral as well. A curator at the National Portrait Gallery saw the video and contacted me about acquiring the resource sketches. I told her I thought Nichelle might be willing to donate the painting. This began a year long process with the museum where 3 historians at the Smithsonian must agree that the subject is worthy of the museum. After a year, they agreed that she was worthy but with a Catch 22. They would only want a painting of her when she was at her most famous. I argued that that was now. She had 5 generations of fans – people would line up for hours to get her autograph. This fell on deaf ears.

Then she passed in 2022. Several Facebook pages used my painting in their tributes to her. These posts received 100,000+ likes and 80,000 shares. I took a screenshot of the page and sent it to my contact at the museum with the question “What more proof do you need of her timeless popularity?” She sent a one line response – “What is the size of the painting?” –

Three months later I got a call that the Smithsonian wanted to acquire “Live Long and Prosper” for the National Portrait Gallery. They sent a truck, built a crate and drove it to D.C. There it had to go through 3 more sets of approvals. Finally it was approved and I was given the honor of having my work included in the 21st century permanent collection.

This of course is meaningful for me for so many obvious reasons. But more than that it honors Nichelle who was so much more than an actress.

She told me a few remarkable stories.

After the first season of Star Trek, she was going to leave the show because the racism at the studio was so unchecked (for example, they made her use a separate gate) – she told Gene Roddenbery that she would be leaving at the end of the first season. He said they loved having her on the show and he asked her to take the weekend to think about it. He gave her a couple tickets to the NAACP gala. When she arrived they came to her and said there was a huge fan of hers that wanted to meet her. It was Martin Luther King. He said that he and Coretta were big fans of the show and it was the only show they allowed their little girls to stay up and watch. She said, “I ‘m glad you like the show but I am leaving the show at the end of the season.” He said, “You can’t leave, not because of the people who love you but because of the people who hate us”. She stayed.

After Star Trek, she was contacted by NASA. They asked her to help recruit astronauts of color and women into the ranks of the astronauts. She said, “No, I played an astronaut on tv – I won’t fool anyone.” They said, “You dont understand what powerful sway you have with the people we want to reach.”
She said, “Ok but if you can’t find anyone qualified, if this is an exercise in tokenism, I will bust you in the press.” She recruited the first females and the first astronauts of color into the ranks of the astronauts.

She travelled the country raising funds for STEM education for girls and was honored by Obama in the white house for her work.

The relationships that have evolved from this work of painting portraits/capturing moments are a big part of why this work is meaningful to me.

Robin , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started painting at 45. I have always been creative but being a painter was something meant for other people with god given talent/a gift – not even something I dreamed of.

I owned an advertising agency with 3 partners and 150 employees. I brought in clients and managed accounts. I started shooting photographs about 10 years before I started painting. I learned how to light and compose photographs working with the professional photographers that were part of the agency. I started drawing at 43 and drew for 2 years. I wondered if I could paint. I took a one week painting class from Russian master, Leonid Gervits. Professor Gervits called me after the class and said, “I can’t believe you’ve never painted, you should come study with me in New York.” We had just sold the agency and my husband said, “You have to go do that I will watch the kids.”

I rented a little place in Soho and painted with instruction from Professor Gervits. We brought models into the apartment and painted portraits in the morning and nudes in the afternoon. We went to the museums and galleries and at the end of about 3 weeks he said, “You really could start to do commissioned work.”

I went back to my home in Washington State, I rented a studio and started painting. This was in 2000.

Since then I have studied with some of the best portrait painters alive today and created work for collections across the country. I continuously have a year’s backlog of commissions and I teach portraiture in workshops around the country along with private students who have studied with me over the years. My work is in the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the Oregon Capital permanent collection, Federal Appeals Court in Washington DC permanent collection, as well as, having been finalists in many International portrait competitions. I was recently awarded Signature Status with the Portrait Society of America.

As a photographer, I know how to take a great photograph with proper lighting that enhances a dramatic composition. For the most part I work with my own resource photographs, when creating a portrait. I am often involved in choosing wardrobe, location and backgrounds. I spend time with my subject to determine the best way to capture what makes a subject uniquely who they are. I love the clients I work with and I want to capture what is most beautiful about them. I listen and collaborate with my clients, together we create.

I am known for my ability to capture a likeness. My strongly held opinion is – if it doesn’t look like a the specific person it is not a portrait, it is just a painting of a person. I guarantee the likeness to my client – they must be delighted with the painting or they can’t have it and I will refund their deposit.

I travel around the country with a portable photography studio to capture subjects in their unique environment. I also want to spend time with the subject – I have found that the relationship makes a big difference in my work. Portraiture is my focus, it feeds, frustrates and ultimately fulfills.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I started working at an ad agency when I was 27. I was one of about a dozen employees. I was hired to bring in new work. I built a book of business and along with 3 colleagues we built an agency with 150 employees. I loved what I did. I was able to do some leading creatively along with selling and I built strong relationships with my clients who spread the word about the work we were doing and recommended us to others. I developed an idea about what customer service should like and helped to create a corporate culture in our agency that made it a coveted place to work. After about 15 years at the agency I became an owner with 3 partners. I thought I would never leave. The partners wanted to sell – I did not but was outnumbered. Though with the sale, I had new found wealth, I burned out. I had lost the incentive of commissioned compensation and the new owners at a different value set that didn’t always match mine.

Around this time, I started drawing and was excited by the progress I was making. I took anatomy for artists classes and life drawing and started drawing every day. I took this one week painting class and discovered that I had an aptitude for painting and that I understood some things about color and composition from my years as a photographer. As I practiced, I improved. That idea that only the gifted could be artists started to shift and I saw how my drawing practice deepened my understanding and my skill set. Maybe being an artist was not an impossibility. Even at 45, I was not too old to learn something new and perhaps even create mastery. I had a 5 year contract to stay on at the agency after the sale – I surrendered it, rented a studio and started painting. It took years to create a strong practice I wanted to have people come to me rather me constantly reaching out to them and I wanted to teach, especially those just discovering their own aptitude. In the past few years that has come to fruition.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I mean I just love what I do. Everyday! I love the studio space I have created to work in. People walk into my studio and they don’t want to leave. I love the process I have created and how it allows for real engagement and joy. I am surprised sometimes by the work I create and believe there is a spiritual aspect to creation – something beyond me and my skillset. I am always learning and hopefully getting better.

At 69 – I think my best work is still ahead of me. I love talking to people about the work and teaching others to embrace their creative inclinations. I am so blessed and grateful to be doing this work .

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.robindamore.com
• Instagram: @robin_damore
• Facebook: Robin Damore and Robin Damore Artist/Photographer

Image Credits

all images by Robin Damore