Robert Peterson (b. 1981) is a contemporary artist specializing in figurative painting with a concentration on portraiture.   Peterson is quickly rising as one of this country’s most celebrated artists.  He has exhibited his colorful works in some of this nation’s hottest art markets and around the world.  He aims to create beautiful works of art that reflect a softer side of black people yet still shows their strength and resilience, something that he believes is not seen and exhibited enough throughout galleries and museums.

Robert believes that all visual artist go through various stages in their career over time where they will explore not only different mediums and subjects but also themselves.  It has always been important to his development as an artist to go through these stages of exploring himself and different ways of creating because they have pushed him to come out on the other side a better artist and person than he was. Initially the paintings that Robert created were based solely off of stock images of celebrities that he found on the internet. As he grew as an artist so did his desire to become more creative and to set himeself a part from other figurative artist that were painting celebrities and stock images so Robert found himself photographing men, women and children that he knew. Since 2020 his paintings have focused on the black experience as he knows it through his personal life and community which is projected onto each work. 

Robert Peterson resides in Lawton, OK, with his wife of over 20 years, Marina, and together they have three children, Caleb, Joshua, and Breianah and a grandson JJ.

 Hear his story, here.