ROCKINGHAM — It was this month that local artist Rob McCullough taught his unique style of painting at Arts Richmond in the group’s downtown workshop.
McCullough walked around his seven students and gave them quick comments and tips as they painted their own version of the painting that was shown on a screen.
He used paint on the canvas and different tools and items to make shapes and textures that were all different. As he taught, he jumped around excitedly between his students as they found their own shapes and different textures.
McCullough, who was born and raised in Hamlet, started drawing in 2018. His painting style is mostly impressionist or abstract, but sometimes he paints landscapes and cityscapes that remind people of artists like Bob Ross and Steve Ditko.
From Hair to Canvas
McCullough has been drawing since 2018, but he is not new to the art world. He has been a hairdresser and carpenter for a long time and has a shop in his backyard. If you ask to see certain pieces at his home art shows, you can get a ticket to see his workshops where he works on these arts.
McCullough has been licensed to style hair for almost 50 years. During that time, she has run several salons and taught Wella Corporation technicians how to style hair all over Europe.
He also competed in hair-styling competitions around the world before he co-owned a design team that taught other stylists how to do well in these contests. His biography says that McCullough’s lessons on how to style hair have been shown on CNN and Korean TV stations.
McCullough learned that he was good at color theory while working as a hairstylist, but he didn’t just use that skill right away on the painting. After he got a hand shake that made it hard for him to cut and style hair, that happened.
He didn’t start to think about painting until he found a board and brushes while cleaning up his mom’s house. McCullough started painting, and the painter says he hasn’t stopped since. Luckily, the cause of his hand trembling was found, and treatment has now stopped it.
A Traveling Show
McCullough frequently travels around the area to sell his art at different art fairs and events. A lot of people have seen him at both Hamlet’s Seaboard Festival and Rockingham’s Affair on the Square.
In the coming months, McCullough plans to teach more classes and show off his art at Arts Richmond. One of these events will be at the next Affair on the Square.