Using an antique medium – hand colored black and white photography – I explore the rain forests, the dramatic coastal scenery, and the spacious high desert of the American West, creating images that evoke both a feeling of warm nostalgia for the past and a haunted sense of sadness about the state of today’s natural world.
My work has been shown in galleries and museums around the United States and is held in such collections as Art About Agriculture at Oregon State University.
After the Ice Storm 2025.1 – Inkjet print and acrylic on canvas. 22×55 inches
I am represented by Mindpower Gallery in Reedsport, Oregon.
You can also find my work at the Karin Clarke Gallery in Eugene and at Studio 7 in Veneta, Oregon.
Forest Fawn 2023.78
What others say
“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
“You get the feeling, looking at Keefer’s art, and his Substack account—Bob Keefer’s Paint and Photography—that he doesn’t take where he lives for granted, not even after nearly four decades there.”
— Ester Barkai, Oregon ArtsWatch