National Recognition Comes To Naples Artist

After nearly 30 years working as professional artist, national recognition is suddenly being bestowed on Robert Bissett by some of the heavy hitters in the art world.

The Naples oil painter - whose stunning painting of a moored sailboat at dusk was featured in the Oil Painters of America 2008 Western Juried Exhibition last month - learned that he has won first prize in a competition from Artist Magazine.

But before he could pop the cork off a bottle of champagne to celebrate, Bissett - who graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and served five years as a pilot, including two tours of Viet Nam - received another piece of good news.

He was notified the he had also just won another prestigious award, this one from the International Society of Acrylic Painters. When ISAP officially announces its top winners, Bissett could possibly walk away with the $1,500 first place award.

"This is a very competitive, hard business, so it's always good news to learn you've won an award of some magnitude in the art world," said Bissett. The "plein air" landscapes he has painted in Alaska, Idaho and Italy have received wide acclaim, and are a valued part of many private collections. "It's better than a poke in the eye."

Since his End Of The Day painting of the moored sailboat was displayed with more than 150 of North America's best oil painters and emerging artists at the OPA exhibit, Bissett has been on quite a roll.

Two of his paintings have been accepted for the 41st Annual Art Auction and Exhibition at the Yellowstone Art Museum in Billings, Mont. It's the third consecutive year his works have been chosen by the museum, which has sold all of his paintings.

"I've been at this a long time," said Bissett, who has painted professionally since 1980 after the majority of his landscape paintings sold out in his first show at a gallery in Anchorage, Ala. "This year I have been focusing on shows and competitions more than I have in the past. It's very nice when recognition like this comes your way. It's been a positive year with the interest and recognition I've been receiving."

The interest that his End Of The Day oil painting - priced at $4,800 - received, nearly won Bissett a top award at the national juried OPA exhibit in October.

"It was in the running for one of the big awards, and it kept going back and forth with votes among the judges, but it didn't quite make it," he said.

According to Bissett, the owner of Devin Galleries in Coeur d'Alene - where End Of The Day is exhibited - plans to hang onto it for awhile.

"I'm told there has been a lot of interest in it among potential buyers, which is always nice to hear," he added.