Artist Robert F. Irwin asserts that each painting, each project in life, is a portal to the next. His collection of art, “Robert F. Irwin 40 Years,” successfully communicates that the most fascinating aspect of an artist's life is a state of continual transformation.

On the upcoming episode of UNC-TV’s local literary series, North Carolina Bookwatch, Sunday, Sept. 25, at 5 p.m., the Beaufort resident shares with host D.G. Martin his full-color tome chronicling his life as an artist from childhood to today. In doing so, he shares the deep richness of his collection and how his images reflect on a life fully lived.

By sharing his journey Irwin demonstrates the production of his art is anything but a solitary experience. Throughout the book, the reader meets his family, his teachers, colleagues and even his students from the State of North Carolina Central Prison. Perhaps the most touching aspect of this book, besides the striking paintings, is the deep affection Irwin demonstrates for his teachers.

“This book originated from a lot of standpoints,” says Irwin. “I first thought of the book as a payback — a recognition of my mentors and my mother, who just passed away.”

While heaping praise on others throughout the book, through this artist’s writing, Irwin has also evolved a way of seeing that is fresh, vibrant, and in his words, “reflective.”

“I think at this stage in life, being able to write my whole history and then look at it, it has been very reflective,” says Irwin. “I need to make the next 10 years different from where I’ve been... and the book promoted an examination of where to go next.”

Robert Irwin spent most of his childhood moving around the South until his parents settled in Atlanta in the 1950s. Throughout the 1970s, Irwin worked as a museum designer, eventually getting his master’s degree in product design from the NCSU School of Design where professors and mentors Joe Cox and George Bireline had a great influence on his life. In the 1980s, Robert Irwin founded Images Inc., a Triangle design and fabrication company, producing high-end custom furniture, but, ultimately, painting became his driving ambition. In the early 1990s, he sold his company and moved to the North Carolina coastal city of Beaufort, where he currently pursues his painting career and his love of sailing.

North Carolina Bookwatch is part of UNC-TV’s ongoing commitment to produce programs for and about North Carolina. UNC-TV is the statewide 11-station broadcast network of the University of North Carolina. For more information, visit ww.unctv.org/