Maplewood artist Rob Weiss recently won the “Obey and Resist’ competition, hosted by Beeple Studios and Shepard Fairey in Charleston, South Carolina. Artists were given two and a half hours to complete an initial drawing and only four contestants, including Rob, moved on to the finals. There, the artists were on the main stage and had thirty minutes to draw their piece while it was live projected behind them.
“Winning the ‘Obey and Resist’ live drawing art battle at Beeple Studios was thrilling!” Weiss said. “And also, just fun and funny.”
“I was announced the winner and was handed my first-ever giant novelty check, made out to ‘COOL DRAWING PERSON,’” he added.
Both of Weiss’ drawings followed a ‘mutant sea creature theme.’ He had no idea what the other artists were drawing, which allowed him to fully lock in with the paint markers.
There was also added pressure for Weiss at this point, since Beeple himself was peering over him. “The inspiration for the finals was simply to get through the drawing without having a heart attack,” he said. “Beeple was right behind me emceeing the live drawings.”
“I told myself not to overthink – draw anything, just make it good!”
Weiss has also been a long-time fan of digital artist Beeple, who made history selling an NFT for $69 million at Christie’s, and street artist Fairey, best known for his “HOPE” portrait of Barack Obama.
Although live drawing is not his specialty, he said he knew he had to jump at this opportunity because of the big-name hosts. Some of his pieces – titled ‘COMPLY’, ‘JOKER’ and ‘REDACTED’ – were even displayed at the competition, which took place on March 21.
“Redacted” by Rob Weiss was one of the pieces shown at the Obey and Resist competition. (Photo courtesy Rob Weiss)
Aside from the competition, Weiss is deeply involved in the SOMA art scene, which he says has played a major role in shaping his artistic identity.
“The SOMA art community is very connected and mutually supportive, and there is so much deep talent here,” he explained.
Weiss has installed many pieces around town, specifically in the SOMA Studio Tour and his recent show “Lost and Found (and Lost Again).”
When speaking about the SOMA Studio Tour, Weiss’ support other artists shows: “You get to see a large amount of impressive art in a single weekend.”
So what comes next for Rob Weiss?
Looking ahead, Weiss already has several projects in motion.
He currently has 10 pieces installed at the DC-area gallery Galactic Panther through late May. He has recently finished a music video for his friend’s band and plans to continue working on more projects. He is also looking forward to setting up a silkscreen in his studio over the summer.
You can find more of Weiss’ art and see what’s next on his Instagram @robweissart and his website.
Rob Weiss with his big check winnings at the “Obey and Resist” competition. (Photo by Steve Aycock)
Jade Meier is an 11th grade student at Columbia High School and is working with Village Green as part of a grant from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium.
