Robert Peterson

I believe that all visual artist go through various stages in their career overtime where they will explore not only different mediums and subjects but also themselves. It has always been important to my development as an artist to go through these stages of exploring myself and different ways of creating because they have pushed me to come out on the other side a better artist and person than I was.

Initially, the paintings that I created were based solely on stock images of celebrities that I found on the internet. As I grew as an artist so did my desire to become more creative and so I began photographing men, women, and children that I know. Over the past two years, my paintings began to evolve and focus more on the black experience as I know it through my life which is obviously projected onto each new work. My art is my truth and my voice, it reflects a softer side of black people often not portrayed in the media and yet it still finds a way to show our strength and resilience, something that I want to see more of in galleries and museums.