EVANSTON — A reception was held for local artist Gisele Robinson at the Uinta County Library on Thursday, Dec. 20. Robinson is well known locally for her western landscapes with huge cloud formations and the two flying birds hidden in each painted sky.

Gisele was born in Germany of Swiss parents and was educated in Switzerland and Sweden. She came to the U.S. in 1955. She married and made her first home in California. With her husband Pete, a park ranger, she has lived in many beautiful and unique areas throughout the country. For 30 years they lived at Devils Tower, where Pete was the park superintendent. Many of her paintings feature the natural landmark of Devils Tower and the open prairie and vast skies of Wyoming and South Dakota.

A standout painting in Robinson’s current gallery display is of a vase filled with native Wyoming wildflowers. It captures the viewer’s attention immediately, for not only is the work different from her traditional landscapes, it is almost impressionistic in style. This painting is not marked with a price like all the others. When asked why, Robinson responded by telling the story behind the painting.  

“We were at Devils Tower and the wildflowers were in abundance and lovely. I wanted to pick some to take home and put in a vase so I could paint them. However, it is a national monument so I couldn’t pick any. But when we were driving around Bear Lodge we spotted a meadow filled with the same flowers, so we stopped and I picked enough, put them in our cooler which we happened to have with us, and took them home to paint. The painting is very special to me and I want to keep it.”

Two other small paintings seem to stand out when the viewer’s eye travels over Robinson’s art display. They hang side by side and are bright red geranium flowers painted on a black background. The color and detail are striking.

“I don’t usually paint anything that small because I feel it shrinks my feelings but those geraniums were so special they just popped out,” Gisele remarked. 

Robinson paints in a small studio separate from her home. A small shed was on the property when they bought their home in Evanston, and Gisele’s husband Pete turned it into a studio for her, putting in a skylight and a window to the west. Gisele states it is her ‘artist cave.’

Robinson’s work is represented in public and private collections throughout the U.S. and in Europe. Her Devils Tower painting is on permanent display in the Wyoming Capitol Building in Cheyenne. She has received many awards, including the “Grand Wyoming Artist” by the Wyoming Artist Association. She has been a member of the Wyoming Artist Association for 37 years, attends every WAA convention and is a strong supporter and advocate for the organization.