Cardboard was Bobby Marines' first canvas.
It wasn't that he loved the heavy-duty packaging material, it was just the only surface he could afford.
The 29-year-old Marines, who grew up in Robstown, Texas, moved nine years ago to Rochester, Minn., to live with his sister, Ashley Marines. He said his hometown offered little inspiration. He said Ashley's willingness to hang his cardboard paintings in the living room encouraged him.
"She would say, 'This is mine. It's going to be worth a lot when you get famous.' Things like that really kept me going."
Those cardboard paintings eventually won him five ribbons and "a little cash" at the 2010 Olmsted County Fair. Soon, Marines was painting during the Rochester ArtWalk and Thursdays on First. It was at the latter that Marines sold a painting for $1,000 to District Court Judge Kevin Lund. It was the first painting Marines ever sold for "real money."
His tireless work ethic now motivates other local artists, including Patrick John.
"When I started coming to [Creative Salon] a year ago," John said, "I would see Bobby and he was always working, working, working. You learn from him that this is not a 40-hours-a-week job; it's an 80- to 100-hours-a-week job."
Before meeting Marines, spoken-word artist Sophie Marie was too shy to publicly share her thoughts. Marines helped her take the stage. But even she struggles to describe Marines' work.
