THE HORIZON WITHIN

A single image — the horizon, a line where heaven meets earth — and
a lifetime spent discovering he had painted his own interior before he
understood it.

The Works of Robert Singleton

Robert Singleton is an American artist who paints the sky, clouds, and horizon not as landscapes, but as meditations on light and darkness, on what passes and what endures, and on the thresholds between them. His paintings dwell in the space between opposites, reminders that nothing stays fixed and that the line between one state of being and the next is always moving.

Three-Dimensional Virtual Galleries 1963 ~ 2025

A computer, pad, or tablet provides the best viewing experience.
Ambient music by Dan Morro

West Virginia 1978 | 2012
Painted on a mountaintop at Baker, West Virginia: darkness gives way to skies filled with luminous light.

Screamer Mountain 1973 | 1978
Painted at 4,000 feet in the North Georgia mountains: deep indigo spaces lit by a light from within.

Screamer Mountain – 1973 ~ 1978
Hard Edge Pastels
Pastels where hard-edged geometry meets soft, atmospheric color, order set against spontaneity.

Florida - 1963 ~ 1974
Painted in central Florida: a young artist's growth, from a first Best in Show in 1965 to a lifelong career.

Films, Talks and Writings

Until I Become Light
The award-winning documentary by Real Earth Productions, aired on PBS in 2002.

HOUSE IN THE CLOUDS: The Artistic Life of Robert Singleton
A short film portrait of the artist's life and work by Douglas John Imbrogno.

Video Recording of Gallery Talk
Robert Singleton in conversation with Clare Anderson about the Memento Mori exhibition at Gradient Project Space, Thomas, West Virginia.

The Cloud Painter and the Berlin Musician
A story of friendship across art and music.

The Art of Living: 60 Propositions on Becoming
From the Tamarack Foundation.

Books

The Horizon Within: A Life Shaped by Light is Robert Singleton's illustrated memoir: a 278-page hardcover tracing more than sixty years of life and painting, with poetry, letters and photographs.The Works of Robert Singleton is its color companion: a 48-page landscape-format catalog of recent paintings from 2012 to 2026, the 1974 Memento Mori series, a gallery talk, and a checklist of works.Together, the two books tell the story of a life and show the paintings that came from it.

Both books, $70.00, including shipping.
Ships within the United States only.

Comments and Correspondence

I welcome your comments, questions, and recollections.
Your message is sent privately.

Recent News

January 2026 ~ The Memento Mori paintings, shown in 2025 at Gradient Projects in Thomas, West Virginia, have found a permanent home at The Juliet Art Museum, Clay Center, Charleston, West Virginia. The museum has created a custom-designed setting that honors the mystery and spirit of the paintings.March 2025 ~ Two paintings first shown on March 14, 1975, at Galleries International in Winter Park, Florida, came out of decades of storage to join the Memento Mori exhibition at Gradient Projects in Thomas, West Virginia, fifty years after their debut.

Awards – Honors

2021–22 ~ Tamarack Foundation for the Arts, Master Artist Fellow, Lifetime Achievement Award.
2018 ~ George Mason University, guest lecturer for the Vernon and Marguerite Gras Lecture in the Humanities: "Where It Comes From: An Exploration of Human Creativity."
1985–1995 ~ Board of Directors, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross Center.
1977 ~ Endorsement by influential art dealer Leo Castelli.
1970–1971 ~ Piedmont Graphics Competition, Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina. Two purchase awards.
1966–1969 ~ Florida art festivals. Numerous Best in Show and First Place awards, including the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival, Daytona Beach, Cocoa Beach, Ocala, and Indialantic.

Exhibitions and Presentations

2025 ~ The Juliet Art Museum, Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia. Memento Mori paintings.
2024–2025 ~ Carnegie Hall, Lewisburg, West Virginia. Exhibition of large-scale works.
2017 ~ Huntington Museum of Art, Switzer Gallery, Huntington, West Virginia. “For The Joy of Light” Interactive Multimedia Installation. Collaborative installation involving large-scale paintings, accompanied by dynamic sound and viewer-interactive lighting; original music composed by German musician and composer Dan Morro. This exhibition brought together nearly fifty years of experience.
1977–1987 ~ Represented by Vorpal Gallery, New York and San Francisco. Eight one-person shows at the New York gallery.1993-2012 ~ My life’s journey took me away from art. My focus shifted from creating artwork to caregiving. Then, for nearly two decades, I did not paint and thought I would never return to creating. In the summer of 2012, I rediscovered the pure joy of the creative emergence... At this new juncture in my 89 years, I have returned to painting full time and am pleased to share the results of this new beginning.1977 ~ Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee. One-person exhibition and "First Light," a multimedia light and sound production.
1976 ~ John F. Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C. Special presentation of "First Light."
1975 ~ Galleries International, Winter Park, Florida. Solo exhibition and first showing of the Memento Mori series.

Permanent Collections

Carnegie Hall, Lewisburg, West Virginia
Juliet Art Museum, Clay Center in Charleston, West Virginia
Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, West Virginia
Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina
Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, Florida
Greenville County Museum, Greenville, South Carolina
Jacksonville Art Museum, Jacksonville, Florida
Maitland Art Center, Maitland, Florida
State of West Virginia, Charleston, West Virginia
State of Florida
City of Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland
ABC Television Network, New York, New York
Chicago Tribune (commissioned), Chicago, Illinois
Gannett / USA Today (commissioned), Melbourne, Florida
Ashland Oil Company, Ashland, Ohio
Architectural Designers, Dallas, Texas
Works are also held in collections in France, Japan, and New Zealand.