Bob Keefer examines the contemporary American West through an antique medium, exploring rain forests and arid deserts in his unique hand-colored photography.
His work has been shown around the United States, has won a number of awards, and is held in such collections as Art About Agriculture at Oregon State University.
You can see it at the Karin Clarke Gallery in Eugene, Oregon, and at Gallery Wild in Jackson, Wyoming.
“Looking at his art is a little like being out in the woods with a trusted friend who points you toward something you hadn’t noticed — delicate candy cap mushrooms beneath a hemlock or a large-eyed northern spotted owl on a fir branch just feet above your head, a something that catches your breath and fills you with wonder.”
— Susan Palmer, Oregon ArtsWatch
“The substrate of this spooky image of the familiar trees and stumps made strange by fog is a black and white photograph. But that is just the starting point for Keefer — he then gets out his paints and brushes and goes to work layering washes and glazes of color onto the photo. The overall effect really drew me into his world, one that seems to both critique the logging industry and to praise the regenerative power of the forest.”
— Sandy Brown Jensen on Viz City, KLCC radio
