While earning his biology degree from the University of Vermont, Rob's lab drawings landed extensive biological illustration work for his professors, and the suggestion that he go professional. After sixteen years in Manhattan as a freelance commercial artist (which included the 1990 Super Bowl logo for CBS), Rob returned to Vermont to focus full time on wildlife art in 1994. In 1995 Rob won the Vermont State Duck Stamp Competition and placed 9th in the Federal contest. Since then Rob has won over 25 awards at more than 60 shows from coast to coast.

In New York City, Rob's childhood love of canoes developed into a particular passion for wilderness trips. After returning to Vermont, he combined these annual expeditions with art by packing his field painting gear. In August 2001 Rob embarked on a 300-mile canoe trip to the Arctic Ocean on the Missinaibi River in northern Ontario. The journey was a milestone in his life. The last 170 miles were completed alone, the solitude magnifying an already intense experience, with the adventure and art melding together seamlessly. That initial journey has led over the last few years to the incorporation of the Wilderness River Expedition Art Foundation, annual canoe/painting expeditions in the wilderness of North America and an upcoming exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in 2008.

Rob's paddling expeditions and other forays into the wilderness of North America and Africa are critical for the reference, inspiration and stories behind new work.