Richard Roebuck Is Real | Folk Art Road Trip Part 1 (Georgia)

Video Description

In this episode of House of Folk Art, Matt hits the road from North Carolina and heads south toward Florida. But before reaching Mary Proctor, there’s a visit that’s been years in the making. For five years, Matt has bought and sold work by Richard Roebuck without ever meeting him in person. Some collectors talk about him like a myth. In this video, we find out the truth. The first stop takes us to Thomson, Georgia, where longtime collector Tom Wells opens up his collection, including powerful works by Willie Tarver and stories from decades in the folk art world. Then we head over to meet Richard Roebuck at his home and studio. Roebuck shares how his mother first taught him to draw and why much of his work reflects the world he grew up in. He isn’t painting cotton fields for nostalgia. He’s documenting lived experience and generational memory. Through scenes rooted in Southern history, he sees himself as preserving stories that might otherwise be forgotten. This is Part 1 of our Florida road trip. Mary Proctor is still five hours away. Chapters 00:00 | Heading South from North Carolina 02:28 | Visiting Tom Wells in Thomson, Georgia 04:01 | Tom Remembers Discovering Willie Tarver 05:56 | VHS Tapes of Z.B. Armstrong 07:37 | Sully Buys a Leonard Jones 08:51 | Meeting Richard Roebuck in Person 10:30 | Learning to Paint from His Mother 16:50 | Back on the Road to Florida If you enjoy Southern folk art, self taught artists, road trips, and real conversations with collectors and creators, subscribe and follow along. This stop in Georgia continues in Episode 50, where we sit down with Tom Wells for a deeper conversation about decades in the folk art world. And Part 2 of this road trip is coming soon as we head to Florida to finally meet Mary Proctor. Do you know a folk artist we should visit? Do you have a picking story worth telling? Leave your name and where you’re from in the comments, or reach out directly. You might hear yourself on a future episode of House of Folk Art. [email protected] (919) 410-8002 Follow @houseoffolkart for more trips, collector stories, and upcoming auction dates at LedbetterAuctions.com.