Twilight Journeys

From Athens to the Heartland

Omid Ranjbar

February 28th - March 24th

Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1958, Omid Ranjbar is a self-taught painter who now resides and works in Indianapolis, Indiana. His passion for painting began as a personal hobby, a true labor of love. Over the past twenty years, the pursuit of artistic expression has evolved into as distinctive style characterized by thematic depictions of rural, seaside, and urban landscapes. Omid primarily works in the standard oil medium, showcasing a master of color, texture, and perspective. 

Early Period (2000-2015)

During the early stages of his career, Omid focused on the natural beauty of the Midwest’s open plains and California’s coastal seascapes. These works are renowned for their expansive skies and ocean reflections, evoking a sense of grandeur and poetic beauty. His paysage paintings of this period captured shifting atmospheric conditions with expressive brushstrokes that conveyed the texture and motion of nature without reliance on detailed representation or human figures.

Omid’s palette during this time emphasized bold contrasts between cool and warm tones, layered over the subdued hues of natural landscapes. The focus on color over composition created immersive works that invited viewers to contemplate their place within the vast, unpredictable, expanse of nature. Themes of philosophical and allegorical significance ran through his pieces, exploring humanity’s relationship to the infinite and unknown.

Late Period (2015-2025)

In the last decade, Omid has turned his attention to the urban environment of Los Angeles, Chicago and Kansas City. His cityscapes are distinguished by their dramatic use of perspective, with diagonal lines drawing their viewers into dynamic urban scenes. While maintaining accurate depictions of topographical details, these works exude a sense of urban grandeur and splendor.

A hallmark of Omid’s later works is his use of translucent light, which casts a warm glow over bustling cityscapes, often depicted during nighttime hours. His signature impasto technique, marked by spontaneous and expressive layering of paint, brings a tactile energy to his urban landscapes.

You can find Omid’s exhibit in the Phoenix Underground Gallery