Robert studied under Master Painter Patrick J. Patton in his native Northern Ireland. He has painted stately homes in England, chalets in Luxembourg, Georgian houses in Dublin, hung wallpaper in Saint Martin on the Field and stained church doors in Covent Garden. He is a specialist in stripping and reconditioning wood walls and refurbishing old furniture.
At 20 years old, at the end of his apprenticeship that had taken him all over Northern Ireland, Robert took a ferry to London and waited on the streets of Shephard’s Bush with other tradesmen of every stripe. It was 6:30am at the headquarters of one of the biggest contractors of West London, Duffy and Carr. There were Polish, Irish, Jamaicans and Scots. Nobody called for painters. Robert’s brother, also a recent graduate of his apprenticeship with Patton, called out, “What, are there no jobs for painters?” When Duffy heard his accent, he said, “Come over here.” The two young men pulled out their Painters’ Union cards- he took one look at them and said, “Right, get into the car”. It was a Daimler. He took them through a beautiful strip of England, ending up at an Ealing Studios’ Tudor style home in a suburb of London. That was Robin’s first day in England on his first paid job.
