Biography

Felix Roberts is an illustrator and artist based in Durango, Colorado. He grew up in rural Colorado where he developed an appreciation for the outdoors and the scope of his imagination. Now that he is an adult, he thinks it is important to keep in touch with those qualities. Felix attends Fort Lewis College where he is completing his undergraduate degree with a major in Studio Art. He enjoys putting his own spin on art styles that have impacted him, such as street art and cartoons. This manifests through his personal alias and universe “wub,” which encapsulates funky proportions, whimsical characters, and renditions of everyday behavior. He keeps this separate in his mind from the studio practice he developed during his time at Fort Lewis College, but naturally there is some overlap. Felix has done illustration work for individual clients and businesses around Colorado including Pleasant Valley Bread and Cosmic Crow Coffee. He has shown his work in alternative venues around Durango, including The Hive and Chimayo Stone Fired Grill, and has participated in group exhibitions at Fort Lewis College.

Statement

My work delves into the absurd and unkempt sides of life, often exploring surreal characters in diverse, unconventional environments. I draw inspiration from a variety of sources including the broad worlds of cartoons, painting, street art, and music. By combining these influences with my imagination, I create worlds with their own rules and internal logic, often revealing themselves during the act of drawing.

Working in drawing mediums such as ballpoint pen allows me to embrace the spontaneity of my work, and capture what I want to see in one extended moment. But, while spontaneous creativity is the impetus for a lot of my work, I also enjoy experimenting with other mediums and techniques. In addition to my more illustrative, surreal pieces, I’ve explored naturalistic painting, drawing from reference images, and working with ceramics. This combination of intuitive and studied approaches allows me to constantly push the boundaries of my practice.

My influences naturally show themselves through the artistic process. Character archetypes throughout history, street-folk, and nature are all themes that present themselves in my work. To me, art is a process of uncovering stories I have been exposed to in my life while putting my own spin on them. This often happens by fostering more lenient rules about what the world looks like and embracing the idea that if everything is out of proportion, nothing is. My work invites viewers to consider things like the juxtaposition of whimsical realities with grim ones, individuality, or feelings of detachment in the modern world, while also offering solace through shared experiences.