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Inspiration from Artists Week 16 Robert Lenkeiwicz and Michael King
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Posted
I will add him to the list Jenny will you do the intro ?. Your quite correct it’s erotic not porn and have looked at his work today it’s really skilfully done. Next week is Turner fest ( my description )the whole week is dedicated to Turner, Alan has a treat planned for us I believe and hope .
Posted
Hello all. Sorry I missed the intro. I’ve been feeling a bit off colour for a couple of days - nothing serious.
I met Robert ( referred to as “Lenko” locally) in Plymouth, In 1967/8. He held readings weekly, which I attended. I particularly remember a book about the New Testament of the bible, which questioned the translation from the original Hebrew. Very interesting. I tried getting the same book from Plymouth library, but it was on loan to RL and was never returned.
A couple of my friends were very close friends with him, and he encouraged them to take in vagrants, as well as have babies. He had lot of his own babies with a few women. At the time, when I knew him, he was painting portraits, mostly of himself. He asked me to pose for him, which I did. As I was used to doing life drawing 5 days a week, I thought nothing of taking my clothes off for the event. He behaved completely appropriately, unlike the later paintings of young women, where he seems to be handling the model.
He set up a studio/shop on the Barbican in Plymouth, with a big sign “Best Portrait Artist in the SW”.
He painted vagrants and arranged for one to be set in formaldehyde. The City Council took exception to this and demanded to have him buried, resulting in a meeting outside the city boundaries to resolve the issue. So it was no surprise that the body was found after Robert’s death.
I did not understand why the Artistic world did not like his work, but it has liked very good to me. He was well known for painting a very large exterior mural close to his Barbican studio, which contained characters that I knew. He also painted an interior mural in a stately home in St Germans, Port Elliott.
I did not meet him again until I returned to my home town and was working for Plymouth City Council. We had a campaign to learn something new in 2002 and invited him to help publicise the campaign by making a pledge. He pledged to learn Calculus! I don’t think he achieved his aim as he died later that year, through heart failure, aged 62.
His work is now sold though a foundation run by his son Rueben, and through Plymouth Auction rooms. He has a big local following and one of his works is on show at our local Musem/Art Gallery, “The Box”.
Edited
by Linda Wilson
Posted
Before RL disappears, these are a few that I like, which are I think a little different.
The first is
Local Children : fight by the Mayflower Steps.
We don’t see many paintings of children/youngsters which aren’t ‘pretty’ and this observation appeals to me.
The second is ‘Christmas Dinner at the Bus Station’ - a sad idea but actually a painting of comradeship for me.
And the third is just a very good still life’Three Chairs’ showing his technical skills. I see that he did a small selection of landscape paintings, interesting but not exceptional.
He’s certainly an interesting character and I like that he captured the poor and needy, what might have been called the dregs of society, the forgotten man in the street. To me a lot of his work has what I would call a glossy American feel, especially his self portraits, and I’m not keen on that. Each to his own!
We don’t see many paintings of children/youngsters which aren’t ‘pretty’ and this observation appeals to me.
The second is ‘Christmas Dinner at the Bus Station’ - a sad idea but actually a painting of comradeship for me.
And the third is just a very good still life’Three Chairs’ showing his technical skills. I see that he did a small selection of landscape paintings, interesting but not exceptional.
He’s certainly an interesting character and I like that he captured the poor and needy, what might have been called the dregs of society, the forgotten man in the street. To me a lot of his work has what I would call a glossy American feel, especially his self portraits, and I’m not keen on that. Each to his own! 
Posted
I've read what you put Linda and it just confirmed my thoughts that this man was very manipulative and enjoyed having some sort of influence and power over people. That doesn't take away from the fact that he was a talented artists of course. Even Caravagio was a vagabond and a murderer. You can see an artist flicker of their own personality that is portrayed in their paintings. Personalty traits always trickle through to their works.