Robz creates art that moves the soul!

My name is Robz Lipner, a digital artist based in Cape Town South Africa.

 

My artistic journey began over a decade ago with a box of low-end coloured pencils and an adult colouring book. 

At the time, I wasn’t setting out to become an artist I was simply trying to quiet my mind. I’ve struggled with anxiety, panic attacks, and racing thoughts for as long as I can remember, and art became the one thing that could truly calm my thoughts.

From those early days of shading in black-and-white illustrations, I developed a deep appreciation for detail, composition, and above all colour. 

Colour has always spoken to me in ways I can’t quite explain. Sometimes I wake up with a colour in my head, and from there, ideas begin to build like whispers from a sleep muse.

That colouring journey sparked something in me, and in true OCD fashion, I dove headfirst into learning everything I could about hues, values, shading, the colour wheel, you name it. Eventually, I moved on to acrylic painting, where I was introduced to abstraction and the expressive power of texture. But as much as I loved it, the physical mess and clutter of paint clashed with my need for calm and order. I would rush through pieces just to clean up.

In 2022, after a long creative drought and mounting anxiety, I hit my lowest point. I felt like the inspiration had left me. I didn’t know who I was without art. A trip to the African bush gave me the space to breathe and reconnect with myself. When I returned, I dusted off my old MacBook and iPad, bought a few online courses, and started exploring digital art.

That’s when everything shifted.

Digital art became my home. It offered the freedom to create without chaos, and the ability to experiment, refine, and explore in ways I never imagined. It was like unlocking a door to everything I’d been dreaming of but didn’t know was possible.

Today, this medium represents the ultimate fusion of creativity and technology. It allows me to bridge the gap between reality and imagination and to channel the emotions and experiences that have shaped who I am.

This is not to say my anxiety is gone, it’s still there, and I still have days when I fear the ideas will stop or that burnout will creep in. But when I sit down at my desk in my beautiful studio and start to create, something shifts. The noise quiets. The chaos pauses.

And in that moment, everything has purpose. “I will never take my gift for granted, I appreciate all I've learned, and the life I am so lucky to have. I get to make art everyday!”

I wake up each day and remind myself: You got this.

 

Inspiration:

 

I find endless inspiration in textures and colours, both in the world around me and in my own imagination. Colour is a constant in my life I dream in colour, wake up with it in my thoughts, and let it guide my creative process. Textures, whether natural or man-made, influence the depth and movement in my work, adding layers of meaning to each piece. My art is an exploration of these elements, blending them through digital techniques to create compositions that evoke emotion and curiosity.

 

Themes:

 

The central themes of my work include transformation, emotion, and visual storytelling. Through digital photo artistry, I blend elements of photography, abstraction, and painterly textures to create immersive compositions. My work is about capturing moments, emotions, and dreamlike narratives that resonate on a deeply personal level.

 

Process:

 

My creative process is both structured and intuitive. I start with a concept, a photograph, or a simple spark of inspiration. From there, I experiment with layering, blending, and digital painting techniques to build depth and atmosphere. I embrace digital tools not as a shortcut, but as an extension of my creativity offering endless opportunities to refine, reimagine, and transform an image into something entirely new.

 

Conclusion:

 

Ultimately, my work aims to evoke an emotional response, inspire curiosity, and challenge perceptions of what digital art can be. I strive to create pieces that go beyond aesthetics, offering a sense of wonder and storytelling within each composition. Looking ahead, I am eager to continue evolving, experimenting with new techniques, and pushing the boundaries of digital artistry.