‘A sense of beauty in nature’
The Friends of Silver Springs State Park will open an exhibit by artist Robert Varis on July 6.
“Cormorant and Lizard.” [Photo courtesy of Robert Varis]
The Friends of Silver Springs State Park have gotten quite adept at finding talented artists to exhibit works at the group’s welcome center and gallery inside the park.
Next up is Robert Varis, who, among other accolades, won best of show in the emerging artist category at last year’s Ocala Arts Festival hosted by Fine Arts For Ocala.
The Varis exhibit will open on July 6 and be on display throughout August. The artist will participate in a meet and greet from 2 to 4 p.m. on July 25.
Marianne Marcoux, with the Friends, stated that “Robert uses references, photos and drawings from his imagination. He either sketches in a book or on his digital artist tablet. His compositions demonstrate his appreciation of shapes found in the natural world but with a certain stylization. To quote Robert, his is a ‘naturalistic style with a cool cutting edge.’
“He makes use of many mediums, including graphite or marker on paper as well as a mix of ink and acrylic on raw wood panels. He says the wood adds character to the piece and has a natural feel no matter what is painted on the panel. He tends to use birch as a nod to his Finnish heritage, which is a beautiful light wood that allows the colors to show up well. Robert is also known for the many portraits he creates,” Marcoux added.
Varis was born and raised in Yucaipa, California, to Finnish immigrant parents. He currently lives in Ocala. He told the “Gazette” that his early inspirations “included a combination of interesting logos, comic book art, cartoons and video games.”
“While those remain influential, my adult work is most heavily inspired by Alphonse Mucha and Yoji Shinkawa. I tend to focus on intriguing shapes in my compositions. For this show, my subjects include photos I have taken around Silver Springs State Park and my home, as well as past pieces focusing on people and horses,” he shared via email.
Some of the works he created for the exhibit include “Woodpecker,” “Cuban Tree Frog” and “Cormorant and Lizard.”
As for what he would like viewers to take away from his work, he offered, “a sense of beauty in nature from these pieces.”
Varis said he and his family relocated to Ocala in 2025 and “have not looked back.” He has participated in First Friday Art Walks, local art critiques and with FAFO.
He shared an excerpt from his biography that notes, “In his paintings, he hopes to expose divine beauty hidden in the shapes of the natural world, to balance geometric construction against organic beauty and to capture evocative emotion. He is immensely grateful for the opportunity afforded by the Friends of Silver Springs and hopes you enjoy his artwork.”
The Friends’ welcome center and gallery are inside the state park at 5656 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. The exhibits are free to view. There is an entry fee of $2 per person at the park.
To learn more, visit varisfinndesign.com and fb.com/thefriendsofsilverspringsstatepark
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