This series of acrylic plein air paintings captures the heart of Roberts Wesleyan University through light, memory, and place. Created in the spring of 2023 as part of a Students for Life fundraiser, each piece reflects the artist’s farewell to campus. From golden-hour dorms to blooming walkways, the collection honors student life, shared spaces, and the beauty of ordinary moments at Roberts.
For the Love of Roberts
Dailey Hall
Swept the steps, the basement too,
Where laundry spun and windows drew.
Quads & Library
Studied Greek where the silence grew,
Got cafe food and thought or two.
Cherry trees blew as I walked by—
Faith, and finals, beneath spring sky.
Voller Athletic Center
Iced my knee. Laced up again.
Ran through pain with track friends.
Some days broke me, others flew.
Cox Hall
I never studied in its rooms,
Songs swell like springtime blooms.
Worship nights, a muscical space—
Someone Holy filled that place.
Davison Hall
Scrubbed on floors; summer hummed,
Girls' dorm still, though halls were numb.
Empty rooms, and echoing shoes—
I cleaned with peace in the quiet too.
Miner Hall & Garlock
Miner was the place of men—
I asked that light would enter in.
At Garlock, hands in motion fast,
I wrapped meals that had to last.
The grease, the grace—
I found a kind of worship in that place.
And Meg—dear Meg—she always knew
The right verse just when I needed truth.
Rinker
President’s wing meetings waited,
Forms and questions, future debated.
In quiet halls where I felt small,
I learned to speak—and stand up tall.
Student Association
Played and prayed, Laughed and grew
In halls like this, where friendships flew.
Now every shadow, every door,
Holds echoes of the days before.
Students for Life
In May 2023, Roberts Wesleyan University’s Students for Life hosted a campus garage sale, raising money for emergency pregnancy centers and future outreach. Paintings from the series were sold to support the event.
University Testimonials
Brenda Myrthil
Director of Community Events at Roberts Wesleyan University
“When I decided to commission an artist for a custom painting, I reached out to the Art faculty at Roberts Wesleyan. My request was this: Do you know of a student who I could commission for a custom-made painting, even if I'm not really sure what I'm looking for? The answer was clear... “Michael Sanders is one of our most talented artists who can work with you along the way to create something unique and special to you.” Michael met with me to find out what would be most important to me in the painting. Throughout the project, he presented a variety of design ideas and allowed me to speak into that process. When complete, he hand-delivered a beautiful representation, capturing what I hadn't even been able to explain!”
Jae Newman
Creative Writing Professor at Roberts Wesleyan University
“Michael Sanders is an artist equally adept at creating both visual art and written works of literature. A recipient of the Pegasus Award, a prestigious poetry prize at Roberts Wesleyan University, Michael's imagination stretches boundaries as he blends where writing and visual art might collide. His poetry reads like a work of visceral, visual art. His artwork bears depth of imagination and deep characterization as though subjects were known and explored in his own inner world. When Michael begins a project, I picture him as a man riding on a train. Where will he go today? He might slide into the studio and explore a topic through painting, charcoal or digital illustration. He very well might also take the next stop: the literary hub, where he might go into any number of places he is prone to frequent- a novel setting, a coffee shop where he'll write a spiritually rich poem about our bodily experience in the world. Where will he go? Perhaps, he doesn't know. That is precisely what powers his work overall.”
Benjamin Richards
My university roommate
“Dang… You’re good at this art thing, huh.”