Rob Gonsalves

Robert "Rob" Gonsalves (July 10, 1959 – June 14, 2017) was a Canadian painter of magic realism (surrealism). He produced original works, limited edition prints and illustrations for his own books.

His "Imagine a..." book series is widely celebrated in Canadian children's literature and education. Their fantasy and surrealism sparked his artistic direction. His love of the urban environment and Victorian architecture found its way into his paintings. He studied Architecture at Ryerson Technical University and learned how to manipulate perspective.

Gonsalves exhibited at Art Expo New York and Los Angeles, Decor Atlanta and Las Vegas, Fine Art Forum, as well as one-man shows at Huckleberry Fine Art, Marcus Ashley Gallery in South Lake Tahoe, Hudson River Art Gallery, Saper Galleries (November 7 to December 31, 2004), Discovery Galleries, Ltd., and Kaleidoscope Gallery. Huckleberry Fine Art published the 1st limited edition prints which remains incomplete because of Gonsalves's death.

In June 2003, Simon & Schuster introduced North America and Canada to Imagine a Night, Gonsalves' first hardcover book featuring sixteen paintings. Due to the success of Imagine a Night, Simon & Schuster released a second book by Gonsalves, Imagine A Day, in 2004 for which he won the 2005 Governor General's Award in the Children's Literature – Illustration category.

His book Imagine a Place was released in 2008. He released another book, Imagine a World, in September 2015.

The website RobGonsalves.live was created in 2019 and is dedicated to keeping his legacy alive. Posters and eventually, new posthumous limited edition prints will become available.

One of his most popular artworks is the piece The Sun Sets Sail (2001). The piece, backdropped by a yellow sunset, depicts a large bridge over a body of water slowly morphing into a line of full-rigged Tall Ships.

Death and legacy Gonsalves suffered from mental illness and ended his life on June 14, 2017. His official Facebook page stated in part "Rob Gonsalves battled the dark but succumbed June 14th."

Fellow artist and widow, Lise Carruthers organized an effort to preserve his legacy in 2018. In 2019, a 4-foot-high black granite plinth was installed on his gravesite at the Necropolis Cemetery in Toronto Canada. Each side of the pedestal featured a different porcelain reproduction of a Gonsalves painting.

Gonsalves' "Imagine a..." book series is widely remembered as staple in Canadian school libraries and elementary classrooms, particularly throughout the 2000s and 2010s.

In popular culture In 2018, Ariana Grande released a music video for her song 'God is a Woman' in which one scene references Gonsalves' painting Water Dancing.