ArtTRUST - Watercolor seems to be your favorite medium ?

Snider   -  As a career investment banker, I really don't have a lot of time to paint during the week. I remember painting with oils and it seemed I spent a lot of time cleaning up brushes....and I don't like messes.  Watercolor is quick and easy and I can just paint thirty minutes in the morning and swish a brush in the water and I am done.  Once I was into it, I found out that there is a lot of magic between the pigment, paper and water.  Watercolor is a more transparent medium and in the right hands can have the depth and weight of oils.

ArtTRUST    Which influences your paintings the most, your years at Ouachita, U of A, politics, or investment banking ?

Snider  -  Almost everything else I do from investment banking to racquetball to golf uses a different side of my brain.  Watercolor allows me to go into a very different place mentally and emotionally.  It is just totally fun to experiment and watch it all happen in front of me.  So, none of my other pursuits have influenced me as an artist, except that I can look back and see that God used it all to put me where I am.

ArtTRUST   You capture the motion of racing thorobreds well.   
           Do you work from photos or on-site visual stimulus?

Snider  -  I love the velocity and action of race horses.  The views that excite me you could never get without a camera with a telephoto lens.  I've been around horses enough to appreciate their beauty and power so I try to paint in a way where the viewer hears the thunder of the hoofs and gets caught up in the emotion of these wonderful animals who are running their hearts out.

ArtTRUST     You paint both action scenes and still life, which is your favorite and why?

Snider  -  I have found that I need to go back and forth to stay energized.  I get bored easily...so I will do a portrait, then a flower,  then a race horse scene. It is a good thing to become more familiar with a scene through repeated attempts to capture the big shapes and to strive for simplicity.

ArtTRUST   You also capture people's character, particularly Miz Kitty.   What characteristics do you look for?

Snider  -  Well, she is a special case because of my respect and love for her spiritual qualities and wisdom.  It occurred to me one day that she might not live forever...although she may!  So I called her up and said, "Miz Kitty, I am looking for a beautiful model with a straw hat".  Her response was, "well bob, I'll have you know I have about 20 straw hats"!    I love to paint older people because their features are much more interesting and there is wisdom in their eyes.

ArtTRUST     Who is your favorite Arkansas artist?

Snider  -  I really admire Barry Thomas because he is a professional artist who was classically trained at the Arts Center for Design in Los Angeles and that discipline and training shows up in all his work.  Richard Stephens is a great watercolorist and his work just takes my breath away.

ArtTRUST     Considering websites, word of mouth, art shows . . . What is your best marketing venue?
Snider  -  Without a doubt, the best venue for artist is the live show.

ArtTRUST      Where did you learn most of your art skills?Snider  -  Well, I was an art major in college and after a 25 year vacation from art, I returned and took lessons at the Arts Center here in Little Rock. Skills are developed by instruction and practice and every one can improve, as long as they stay interested and humble.