PEJMAN - Romantic Realism

Bob Pejman was surrounded by art and culture from an early age. The son of an operatic composer and a concert musician, he spent his early childhood in Vienna, and then by way of England moved to the United States in 1976.

Pejman began painting by the age of seven, and by the time he was sixteen he had won numerous awards in group exhibitions. However, despite his art instructor's insistence for him to pursue an education and career in art, Pejman decided to enter the field of business management. Upon graduating from college and after numerous years of employment at leading Software companies, Pejman secured a position as a Vice President of Marketing at Information Resources Inc, a global market research company.

However, it was not until 1988 when Pejman decided to return to the art world by opening up an art gallery. As a result of his direct exposure to fine art and contact with European masters whom he was representing at the gallery, he decided to start painting again. In 1991 he began his two year formal studies with the world renowned Russian artist, Anatoly Ivanov. Later he attended the prestigious New York Art Students League as well as furthering his studies with the Impressionist master, Ovanes Berberian. Among his art instructors, Ivanov influenced Pejman the most by inspiring him to use the techniques of old masters such as Michelangelo and Rafael. Employing these almost forgotten techniques, Pejman skillfully blends impressionistic colors and techniques to achieve a classical but yet contemporary style.

Pejman's style is influenced by such artists as Sir Alma-Tadema, Thomas Cole, and Maxfield Parrish. All of them sharing the attributes of technical mastery, form, and perspective. While the influence of these masters is evident in Pejman's works, it is through his unique arrangement and depiction of the subject matters that he achieves a distinctive style. One can classify his style as romantic realism, which he interestingly enough achieves by portraying beauty and solitude.

In his works, Pejman creates idyllic, tranquil worlds. "There are no people in my paintings, so you can imagine yourself in the scenes", explains the artist. "The scenes are already romantic, but my idea is to make them even more so". In doing so, he pushes the colors to make them more intense and exaggerates the sunlight. "I don't simplify the shapes. You get into the cracks and feel the structures and the stones" he says, considering them to be marks of cultivated wisdom rather than declination. There is romance in history, and Pejman reminds the viewer of classic beauty and emotions that transcend time, all inherent to such places as the Mediterranean.

Since his first one-man exhibition in 1993, Pejman has received national and international attention. His works were chosen to be made into jacquard loom tapestries in Paris, France and distributed through Design Toscano in Chicago. Wall size murals are published by ScanDecor in Sweden, and Portal Publications in San Francisco is publishing a series of graphics. Pejman's works can be found in many prestigious galleries and corporate and private collections through out the world.