Arts Festival Oklahoma (AFO), held during Labor Day weekend on Oklahoma City Community College’s (OCCC) campus, will host Robert Wardle as the featured artist of the festival. Wardle classifies his astonishing work as contemporary realism in watercolors.

Wardle began painting at the early age of 8 years old. His family would sit down and watch artist Bob Ross on Public Access Television and paint as a family. When Wardle was 15, his father, being military, was transferred from Southern California to the Washington D.C. area. During this time, Wardle would spend his days in the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art and the Hersshorn studying the paintings.

Wardle went on to study art at the College of Eastern Utah in 1993 and continued his education at the University of Utah in 1996. Since graduation, his work has been displayed in nearly 30 museums, nature centers, galleries and private collections throughout the southwest.

The festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 5, through Monday, Sept. 7. Saturday and Sunday hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Monday hours will be 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Arts Festival Oklahoma has been a favorite Labor Day event in the Oklahoma City metro area since 1978. Over 25,000 patrons attend the festival over the Labor Day weekend to view and purchase original artwork by regional artists, experience exceptional performances and productions, and sample a diverse food selection. Admission is free with an additional $5 cost for parking. For more information, visit /afo.