At 90, artist Robert Cronin still finds new ways to paint

Once I get all the colors in, they change. Who knows? I might consider more radical colors and then bring it back a little.
— Robert Cronin

Renowned painter Robert Cronin of Falls Village celebrated his 90th birthday with an exhibition, “Robert Cronin: New Paintings,” at the Hunt Library in Falls Village which opened Aug. 8 and will be on view through Sept. 11.

Cronin paints most days in his home studio. He keeps his work fresh by trying new things and has had different phases of work, including figure paintings, paintings on paper, a modular, circle and enclosure series of paintings, as well as a tinplate sculpture series.

Cronin said he never expected to pursue art as a career. He started out at Boston College pursuing another degree but, luckily for him, flunked out and enrolled at the Rhode Island School of Design.

At first, he thought he’d pursue industrial design. But once he was immersed in drawing and painting, he realized he had a natural talent for it. “I fell in love with basic stuff. I had never owned a set of paints.” While at RISD, “In 1958, I instinctively fell into abstract work.”

After graduating from RISD and working for a time as a cleaner at Massachusetts General Hospital while painting whenever he could, he was awarded a full scholarship to an MFA program at Cornell University, along with a living stipend.

He went on to teach for 18 years at various schools, including Brown University, Bennington College and the School of the Worcester Art Museum, which he said he enjoyed the most. “I love my memory of that more than academic places. Whether Brown or a certificate program like Worcester, when you’re good, you’re good.”

After leaving Worcester in 1980, he moved to New York City to pursue his art career. He found success and exhibited his work in several galleries in New York City and around the world.

In 1990, Cronin moved to Connecticut, settling in Falls Village, where he left his tinplate sculpture phase behind and concentrated on painting again.

He explained his current approach to painting. “Everything in this show,” he said, “had a preliminary drawing. Most of my life has been starting from scratch, with no preliminary drawings.”

He makes many small sketches. “One out of 20 drawings may become a painting.” He enlarges the sketch on a copier, transfers it using a grid and paints it on a 16-by-20-inch canvas.

“Once I get all the colors in, they change. Who knows? I might consider more radical colors and then bring it back a little.”

Of starting a new painting, he said, “You don’t know what you are getting into, but it’s terrific.”

To learn more about Cronin and his work, visit robertcroninart.com.

The exhibition will be on view at Hunt Library in Falls Village through Sept. 11. Cronin will give an art talk Thursday, Aug. 13 at 5:30 p.m.