Meet Bob Peck | Painter and Muralist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Bob Peck and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Bob, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I feel like storytelling plays a huge part in my success. I always say that people don’t want to just buy art, they want to buy a piece of you. They want to be able to talk about not only why they love the art, but why it’s important or relevant to them.

I come from a graffiti art background and while my artwork has transcended past that style, I like to incorporate stories from my past and how graffiti got my art and myself to where I’m at now.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I think what sets me apart is that i often add my own flair to my work when it allows for it. Meaning, when I’m doing a mural, I don’t just create a carbon copy of an image, I like to have people see it and before they see the signature, they know it’s mine based on the style.

One of the projects I’m most excited about coming up in 2024 is a large-scale mural for Destination Cleveland, They placed a citywide called to artists, and out of hundreds of entries, I was one of a small handful of artists selected to paint one, The piece will be used as a photo op, as well as a tourism attraction.

It’s taken at least 20+ years to get to where I’m at. I started doing commissioned work in the early 2000’s but began doing graffiti in the streets in 1993. It was far from easy. I still feel the challenges daily. People only see the end results on social media but behind closed doors, it applying for projects which involves writing out artist statements, letters of interest, creating mock-ups. Each submission can be hours of work with no guarantee that you’ll even get the project. Also, doing murals is a physically demanding job. Running up and down ladders and lugging around large quantities of paint, usually in high temperature seasons. I’ve never “overcome it” per se. I just tell myself each time, it’s part of the job and work through it.

The lessons I’ve learned along the way is to slow down and think things through. When I was younger, I used to race from project to project because I was hungry. (Figuratively and literally.) As a result, I wasn’t putting out my best work and it showed. Clients were happy with the work, but looking back on old projects, I know it could have been better, Another lesson is to never be satisfied. When you do that, you become complacent and stop advancing creatively. I liek what i make now, but I’m always thinking and asking myself what could I do better next time?

I guess the short version of my story is that art is my life. Without graffiti in my younger years and public art and gallery shows now, I don’t even know who I’d be as a person. I can imagine my life without art. As for my brand, my goal everyday is to make art that brightens up the space it’s in and make pieces that are equally unique from the last one, but still carries my style along with it, so that’s it’s recognizable at a glance.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
First meal would be lunch at Caribe. It’s a little Spanish restaurant off of Fulton. Every meal there is full of flavor and amazing. I can’t sing their praises loud enough! From there, we’d have to do a little bar hop around town. Starting in Tremont with Lava Lounge and Edison’s and then heading through the west side to hit Dunlap’s, Old 86, The Richland and Mars Bar. As for sightseeing, you of course have to show off Edgewater and the Metrparks. I’m born and raised here but they still wow me when I visit both. Catch a couple dinners at Ninja City, India Garden, Nuevo and Angie’s Soul Cafe and maybe catch a show at the Agora. (Man! I want to do all of this in a week now!)

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d say that the first person that comes to mind is my lifelong friend, Dan “Presto” Daley, We met when I was a teenager and he took me under his wing and showed me the ropes in the graffiti scene, as well as helping me develop my own artistic style.

I’d also like to give a shoutout to my friend, Mikey Garcia aka “FadeResistantArtist.” He’s a super talented artist and assists me on a lot of my large scale mural projects. He’s always super positive, easy to work with and helps get the job done. I’ve even learned some tricks from him over the years.

Website: saatchiart.com/bobpeckart

Instagram: @Bob_Peck_Art

Facebook: @BobPeckArt