Robert Niedzwiecki (b.1954) was born and raised in central New York and grew to love the varied landscapes represented in this region. An artist in high school, Robert won an art scholarship from the National Scholastic Art Competition but instead chose to attend the Air Force Academy. Following a tour of duty in Arizona, Robert returned to his first love and attended college at Purchase College where he received a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts, and uncovered a passion for teaching. He then spent the next thirty years teaching high school art, primarily Advanced Placement courses, in a suburb of Syracuse. In 2010 he retired from teaching and devoted himself to becoming a better draftsman and painter with an intensive ten thousand hours of study; this led to his realization that a painter must continue every day to learn, experiment, and grow in order to do their best work.