Collection: Rob Hefferan Artist Biography and Art Gallery Collection

Rob Hefferan is a British figurative artist whose oil paintings could almost be mistaken for photographs. His photo-real portraits capture the personality of each of his subjects by working with light, color and texture to reflect the vibrancy of life. Using oils and acrylics, Rob Hefferan combines detailed foregrounds with broad, bold brush strokes to create an atmosphere and establish a mood. His figures are delicate, passionate and absorbing. The viewer reads each character's eyes, each character's body language and creates their own story behind each work. Rob Hefferan cites his main influences are John Singer Sargent, William Waterhouse, Monet and Albert Moore.

Rob Hefferan was born in Warrington, Cheshire, England in 1968. As a youth, he enjoyed drawing and painting very much. “I wanted to be an artist for as long as I could remember” says Hefferan, “I remember copying dinosaurs and spaceships from picture books and feeling frustration at the fact that I could not draw as well as the illustrators from the books.” Desperate to follow an artistic career he found discouragement round every corner, with the exception of his art teacher who recognized that his childish drawings of dinosaurs were something rather special. As he grew older he would often copy the works of the great Impressionists. Throughout his high school and college years, Hefferan had much success in many of the art competitions he entered.

Rob Hefferan began studying illustration while at Manchester University. It was there that his skills sharpened and evolved into a very realistic style of painting. He would later leave college to work for an illustration agency. During this time, he worked on many major campaigns for national and international brands such as the BBC, The National Lottery, BMW and Volkswagen. His focus ultimately went entirely towards fine art. Since the introduction of his figurative works in the 2001, Rob Hefferan is fast on his way to being one of the most notable of new artist within the United Kingdom. Fairs at which his art is displayed have sold out of his works in a matter of hours, and Hefferan’s popularity is quickly spreading to the United States. The immense detail in human form and soft settings is truly captivating.As a result, Rob Hefferan has become one of the most collectible artists working in the UK and has quickly earned the reputation as one of the finest contemporary realists of his generation.