Robert Bissett

Robert Bissett lives in north Idaho, travels the world and paints in acrylic, oil and watercolor. He is known for his portraits, plein-air landscapes and studio work.

He graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1967, served over five years as a pilot including two tours in Viet Nam. Returning to school after the service he graduated from Washington State University with a degree in architecture, Summa Cum Laude, in 1975.

A career in architecture seemed more practical, but the urge to paint became overwhelming in the summer of 1980. That fall he had his first show at a gallery in Anchorage, Alaska. Most of the paintings were landscapes and it sold out. The following spring a mountain "portrait" of Pioneer Peak was selected as the subject for a four thousand edition Beautiful Alaska promotional print, 16" x 48". Bissett moved to Idaho in 1980. He has traveled throughout the US, Japan, Australia, Spain, Turkey, Ethiopia, Greece, Iran, Greenland, England, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Costa Rica and Italy. His paintings are a valued part of many private collections.

Bissett put aside the brushes for a period of seven years in 1997 to focus on architectural design, specializing in the exciting possibilities of Monolithic domes. During that time he was responsible for many interesting projects, among them the Sigler Dome of a Home in Florida that survived hurricane Ivan in '04 and a five dome complex, including one of the largest high end dome homes in the world, 130' diameter, 55' high and nearly an acre of floor area. In the summer of 2004 he returned to art with renewed enthusiasm, ready to focus on his first love - painting.