We recently connected with Bob Peck and have shared our conversation below.

Bob, appreciate you joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?

I originally come from a graffiti art background and although I still consider myself a “graffiti writer” in some regard, (Sort of like “Once a Marine, Always a Marine.) my main focus for the last decade plus has been on my abstract paintings and murals.. I’ve been introduced in professional settings numerous times over the years as “A really talented graffiti artist”.

Although graffiti is much more widely accepted these days, there’s still a lot of misconceptions about the culture in the fine art world and I feel like I and my artwork gets judged on the spot. Yes, my work is derived from my years of doing graffiti in the streets and it’s created with spray paint cans, but it transcended that scene many years ago, I prefer to be called an artist or a painter these days because what I paint is abstract and has no letter structure or characters like graffiti has.

I’m personally even conflicted writing this because I still love the graffiti culture and still paint graffiti pieces (mostly legal) with my friends for fun, but I tend to keep that separate from my gallery work and my own personal abstract murals.

While I’ve had a lot of local success showing in neighborhood galleries for many years now, I often feel like I’ve hit roadblocks along the way taking the next step up and attempting to exhibit in more prominent or upscale art venues because of where my work was derived from.

Yes, of course, numerous galleries around the world have shown graffiti artists and their art for decades, but I feel like we have to work much harder in the streets first doing graffiti to build a name that’s deemed prolific enough to exhibit, regardless of the quality of the work.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I create a mix of abstract paintings and murals, as well as traditional mural work (i.e. community murals with lettering, characters, etc.) I got my start around 1993 as a graffiti artist. I was 16 at the time and was fascinated with the idea that people could be anonymous artists and have the freedom to paint on whatever they wanted, As I learned about the sub-culture, I started out like most do, tagging my name around the neighborhood and eventually around the city. I loved the rush of it but I knew I wanted more from it, so I started designing larger ,more complex and colorful lettering called “pieces”. I also had a thing for cartoon characters and video games (and still do!) so I started working on creating and painting my own characters alongside my graffiti pieces. This was all done illegally at first, either in a back alley or in some dark corner of an old building. As I got older, I’d also paint on the RTA line so the masses could see my work. As my tag name “Lost” grew in notoriety, i started getting offers to paint in local night clubs and businesses and the rest is history. Fast forward 30 years, and I now paint for major clients in Cleveland and nationally!

The biggest problem I try to solve for my clients is fleshing out a design that’s as big and bold as they’re imaging, even if they’re struggling with conveying those ideas to me. I find that patience is the key and showing enough options, while also paying close attention to their reactions.

What I’m most proud of is seeing where I’ve gotten to as an artist from where I came from. I grew up in a really impoverished neighborhood and was raised around a lot of negativity, crime and dangerous situations around me daily. I felt like my art helped not only get me through it, but also gave me a path to get out and become something better than what I saw around me. I even have the words “LONG SHOT” tattooed across my knuckles to remind me of how much it took and lucky I am to be where I’m at.

The main thing I’d like everyone to know about my work is that each painting and mural is created with a lot of thought and care put into it from concept to finish. Even my abstract pieces are carefully planned layer by layer as I paint to create perfect balance and flow through all the shapes and lines.

As for my murals that contain figurative work, I’m a stickler for clean lines and precise details. I’ve had friends laugh at me because I’ve redone a minuscule detail too may times on a wall, but in the end I know someone will notice and appreciate it.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I guess some of the graffiti mindset still sticks because my goal is to put my art in as many public spaces as possible. I love being able to make a living from my art, but that comes second to the idea of painting over a boring, gray wall on a street corner and people coming up as I work, telling me how much they love it and how much better it looks. My work is very bright and colorful by design and I’ve had so many people over the years reach out to me and tell me that it changed their whole day when they walked by and saw a new mural in their neighborhood and it gave them a smile or even helped make a bad day a little better. I’ve seen several couples use my murals as wedding photo backdrops because of the energy to it and when I get sent those, I can’t help but smile myself.

In the end, the goal is to make art that brightens up a boring space and maybe someone’s day also..

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew sooner about how to find and apply for grants and public funding for artists. Also, “calls to artists” that get sent out through creative networks, These basically are listings that are published by a community group, business, etc. looking for artists to create for them and they have a budget to make it happen. Getting connected with that kind of information can be a huge asset to any artist looking to have a lucrative career.

Contact Info:

• Website: saatchiart.com/bobpeckart
• Instagram: @Bob_Peck_Art
• Facebook: @BobPeckArt

Image Credits