Creative sensations

An exhibit by Bob Nordbruch

Exhibition Open: July 1 - September 19, 2025
Gallery Reception: August 15, 5-7 pm

Painting is a joyful, healing process for me. It’s a way to slow down, connect to nature, and lose myself in creativity. I usually work in oils and acrylics, pulling inspiration from imagination, memory, and the natural world around me. Sometimes I start from a photograph, but I rarely stay faithful to it. I move elements, shift colors, and follow the emotion of the piece rather than strict realism.

Color plays an important role in my work. It doesn’t have to match what’s outside my window — it needs to feel right. Some paintings lean more impressionistic, while others edge into abstraction, depending on where the creative process leads.

Painting is a form of meditation for me. When I’m working, time slips away. Music fades into the background. Hours pass without me noticing. That sense of total immersion — that’s what I seek, both in making art and in the way it’s experienced by others. So simple, like spirituality.

I believe that art should evoke feeling, not just record what’s seen. If a painting lifts my spirit while I’m making it, I hope it has the same effect when someone else encounters it. I’m still learning every time I pick up a brush — and especially when I teach classes at Hirsch Wellness, where I’m constantly inspired by the unique ways others express themselves.

Artist Bio

Bob Nordbruch grew up exploring the woods and fields of Greensboro, North Carolina, experiences that shaped his creative connection to the natural world. He studied art at East Carolina University and later returned to painting after a long hiatus, inspired in part by his recovery from Guillain-Barré Syndrome. Working primarily in oils and acrylics with a bright palette, his style moves between impressionistic and abstract, guided by memory, imagination, and observation. He paints out of his studio, "The Birdhouse," near Haw River State Park, and you’ll often catch him around Revolution Mill, where he teaches at Hirsch Wellness.