Rob Surette goes at the canvas with all the frantic speed of a man disarming a bomb. He attacks it with his fingers, tapping, tamping, twirling. He dashes off for a pair of brushes and races back to assail the canvas some more. He moves with such deft speed, it feels like watching something in elapsed time.

And then, incredibly, the paint begins to take form on the canvas. You blink and there it is, a near perfect image of Abe Lincoln. Or Nicole Kidman, Lady Liberty, Humphrey Bogart or Jim Morrison. If you blinked, you probably missed half of the creation.

Rob Surette is the fastest portrait painter in the world, a man who can create a 6-foot painting in a minute or slightly more. He rubs elbows with the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno, but in April, Surette will bring his motivational Amazing Hero Art to Rumford.

Surette will perform at Mount Valley High School, thanks to the people of the Parish of the Holy Savior Youth Ministry. They brought Surette in to perform in 2007, fell in love with his act, decided they had to have him again.

Are they excited?

“At a recent youth ministry meeting, we had a paint splattering evening in honor of our guest,” said youth minister Elaine Palmer. “We purchased solid black T-shirts with Holy Savior Youth Ministry printed on the front. We made a template to cover the words and let the kids go for it. There was paint everywhere. They had a blast. We will be presenting Rob with a paint splattered T-shirt — as if he already doesn’t have one.”

So, with the fastest portrait painter on the way to Maine, I sent Surette an email, hoping to get a few words from the man over the next day or two.

I blinked and there was a response in my mailbox.

The man is fast.

Celebrating humanity, fast

Surette, 39 years old, has been at it for more than 18 years. He has performed well over 3,500 shows, for schools, churches, corporations, trade shows and black-tie fundraisers. His auction paintings fetch tens of thousands of dollars each year. Surette gives all of that money to charities.

Try to find a celebrity or historical figure Surette has not painted. He has painted the greats, like Albert Einstein, Jesus Christ and Christopher Columbus. But he also has created likenesses of Lindsay Lohan and Yoda.

“In my Amazing Hero Art shows, I celebrate humanity,” he says. “I honor many great people who have lived, in the hopes of triggering some sort of passionate drive in the audience to be great themselves.”

His fastest time? A portrait of Einstein completed in 58 seconds flat.

“It’s a high,” Surette says, “because first of all, it’s what I am born to do. Create something in a very fast, entertaining way which hopefully reaches the hearts of an audience member.”

He has appeared on “The Today Show,” “The Tonight Show,” “Good Morning America” and “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” In 2005, his name was added to the Rosa Parks National Wall of Tolerance Monument in Montgomery, Ala., in recognition of his work toward racial equality.

With lofty reputation comes the pressure to perform.

“Do I get nervous when performing? Not anymore,” says the Massachusetts resident. “Maybe back when I was beginning, years ago. But it’s my life purpose. I’m a leader and I take that seriously. I have lots of insights and inspiration and wisdom for the world, and when I’m on-stage, it’s my time to help people. I’m not really on stage for ego sake. It’s more like my way of giving back to society.”

Poke around on YouTube and you’ll find videos of Surette’s performances. When you first start watching, you’ll believe something is wrong with the video player. Things move so fast, it’s dazzling. It’s akin to watching a savant perform complex mathematical computations over a span of seconds.

“And I don’t trace anything ahead of time on the canvas,” Surette says. “This makes it more fun, because I’m really involved in the creation of the portrait. I’m sizing up the blank canvas and I picture it completed before I even begin. It’s like the portrait already exists — and it does, in my mind — I’m just revealing what I see in my mind.”

Surette is currently working on nine world records. Understandably, he doesn’t want to reveal the specifics.

In Rumford, he said he will customize his show for the audience.

“I will be performing my secular Amazing Hero Art show, but will include lots of Catholic and Christian messages throughout, as a way of customizing the show for the Catholic Church who is hiring me,” he says. “So, it won’t be a 100 percent religious show, but it won’t be a 100 percent secular show. It will be a hybrid.”

Near perfection in a minute

Surette grew up in Arlington, Mass., and has been painting since age 3. He received his bachelor of science degree in computer science and business from Saint Anselm College in 1993. Two years after graduating, the self-taught painter developed his first speed-painting performances.

He has no real connection in Maine. When asked about his frequent performances here, Surette says he has no idea how it came about. But Palmer, of the Youth Ministry, provides some insight.

“I actually have seen Rob perform three times,” she said. “The first time was at a youth ministry convention in Portland many years ago. In 2006, he returned once again to perform at the youth convention before 500 teens from all over the state. Once again, I was still totally blown away. It was so powerful and moving. There could not have been one dry eye in the whole place. All I could think was that I wish that everyone could see this show.

“On March 31, 2007, he made his debut in Rumford. I remember watching the parking lot at Mountain Valley High School fill up,” Palmer said. “It was incredible! About 650 people attended. I received phone calls from people who wanted to know when he was going to return, along with letters from people who I really didn’t know but were so moved by his performance.

“He’s just not your typical artist,” Palmer said. “His last show was right before Easter and the theme was on Christ. It was incredibly moving and powerful. It doesn’t seem possible that someone can create such beautiful pieces of art in minutes!”

Artwork that would take another artist days, weeks or months to complete will appear in just seconds of Surette’s judo-like moves at the canvas. This from a man with no formal training.

“So, as far as the detail and correct proportion of the painting — sure it takes lots of concentration, but I know how to do it well,” Surette says. “My standard repertoire includes paintings which I have painted over 4,000 times each, so it’s fun. And there’s great fulfillment when the painting comes together perfectly.”

At that, he pauses.

“Well, to my eyes, hardly any of them come out 100 percent perfect, but to the audience they are fabulous,” he says. “It’s just that I go so fast, it’s hard to get them perfect. Thirty seconds more for each would allow me to paint them perfectly, but I trade in that extra time to make them super fast and exciting for the audience.”

Where: Mount Valley High School, Rumford

When: Saturday, April 9, 7 p.m.

How much: $10 in advance, $12 at the door

Contact: Parish of the Holy Savior Youth Ministry at 207-364-4694 or elainemarie_palmer@yahoo.com

More: AmazingHeroArt.com

Rob Surette’s personal philosophy

* I believe kids and adults are a lot smarter than they think.

* I believe most people don’t come close to realizing their true potential in life.

* I believe most people aren’t nearly as happy as they should be in life.

* I believe there is a great power within everyone.

* I believe one of the best vehicles to INSPIRE people to live the life they are capable of living is through an ENTERTAINING show.

* Thus, the birth of my AMAZING HERO ART.

Copy the Story Link