Talented Atlanta native’s artwork on exhibit at Texas A&M-Texarkana

By Randy Grider
randy@casscountynow.com

Robert Michael Guillory has multiple pastimes, but the one that stands out the most is on display at Texas A&M-Texarkana.
Approximately 70 pieces of the 28-year-old Atlanta native’s artwork is part of an art show exhibit at the college’s John F. Moss Library. The exhibit will run through the end of August.
On July 12, the library held an opening reception for “A Point in Time,” featuring Guillory and two other artists -- Leah Beall and Gabriel Avila.   
“I’m very excited about it,” said Guillory, who serves as the coordinator of the Testing Center and Student Support Services at Texarkana College. “This is my first show.”
Guillory said his interest in art started when he was a youngster, and has continued throughout his adult life.
“I started doing art in class when I was in middle school, and then I continued in art classes through high school. I started out doing mostly drawings, lot of pencil and paper type stuff,” Guillory said. “And then in college, I started doodling more, abstract type things.” 
Guillory’s style encompasses inner perspectives within the main artwork. One signature element often used are flames. “Flames are something that I used when I started, and I still put them in many of my pieces,” he said.
Guillory’s use of media is diverse. “I’ve done a little bit of everything in paintings, everything but oils. I do a lot of inks, “ he said. “I find different media to paint on like driftwood boards and wine bottles -- anything that I think can be repurposed. My wife gave me the idea to paint on wine bottles.”
As for Guillory’s other pastimes, there also are wide-ranging.
“I do a number of different things. Art is one of the many different deals when I have the time, which isn’t often, that I work on,” he said. “I build websites, have started an airplane salvage business with my dad and a friend of the family and play golf.”
Guillory’s future plans for his artwork includes creating more exposure to some of the pieces he has created. 
“I will probably start trying to sell prints of some of my art off one of my websites,” he said.  “I’ve made a little bit, but I’ve never really marketed myself to try to make very much.”