Art Story – Coloring the Urban Jungle

Coloring the Urban Jungle

Artist: Bob Gleason

01.22.2014

By: Elaine Ngo

“As an artist I have been greatly influenced by urban life and tend toward paintings of cityscapes. The thrum of life in streets, the rush of humanity. I believe the colors I use convey the explosive and exciting quality of urban existence. They are derived from the reflections I find from water, glass, stone and metal from which the scenes are composed. “ -Bob Gleason

Since 2008, Bob Gleason has been with Art, etc and over the years we have been fortunate enough to see some great works produced by him. I took the opportunity to meet with one of our best selling artist. Listening to Gleason’s journey and stories as an illustrator to becoming an artist was fascinating and more importantly, inspiring.

What did you do before you became an artist?

My background is in illustration. I was hired by a design firm that creates movie posters. My agent got me in touch with them and the owner of the firm told me about the movie, “Halloween” and asked if I could design the poster for the movie.

Where did your art career began?

I got a degree from the University of Georgia. I drove across the country with the goal of going to an art school to learn and become an illustrator. For about two years, I worked and at night I went to art school. The first job I got was at Motown records. The art director at the time asked me to do album covers. One cover being Stevie Wonder.

You are known for your urban landscape paintings. Where did the idea of come from?

I’ve done a broad spectrum of work in the past ranging from figurative drawings, designing logos, movie and album covers. When I was 27, I went to Art Center where I was taught by some of the great artist in the entertainment industry. Artists like John Asaro, Mark English and Bob Peak gave me the confidence to become an artist. For me, the big city represented freedom. Being an artist, and growing up in a conservative city (Augusta, Georgia) I felt like I was the ugly ducking…I didn’t quite fit in anywhere. When I got in the car and went across America – it was such a relief. The city to me, meant to be who you are.

There is so much detail that goes into your urban landscapes. Do you plan it out thoroughly before you start painting?

Yeah…but then I change my mind a lot. When I find that I made a mistake, I usually crop a painting to change the composition of the work. I’ve done one work where I cropped it 4-5 times!

Do you fall in love with your paintings? Ones you would never sell?

I’ve done paintings for my wife that I would never sell. Just recently, she read a book about crows, and she asked me to do a watercolor painting of some crows. It turned out haunting and magical. To be honest, I don’t fall in love with my paintings. I am happy with how my paintings turn out.

What would you recommend for aspiring artists?

I do recommend going to art school. Shoot for those scholarships. It will ease your debt when you leave.

Have a focus in what you want to do and keep that focus. Go for what your heart wants. Don’t let life bend you in a direction that you don’t want to go.

Some photos from the original post were not preserved in the web archive and could not be restored.