ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- If you’ve spent any time wandering the streets of downtown St. Petersburg, then you’ve probably seen Bob The Robot. The cute, somehow sympathy-summoning yellow bot with the stick legs and the asymmetrical eyes adorns several structures in the area, a mascot for existentialism that pops up in the oddest places.

Bob is going to be popping up in even more spots around the city, thanks to a grant from the St. Petersburg Arts Alliance.

“I was surprised, because I think I tried it before and it didn’t work,” says Marko “Aurailieus Artist” Stevens, creator of Bob and Arts Alliance 2020 Individual Artist Grant Program recipient. “It’s always a good surprise when you get things, because as an artist, you apply for everything. 

“Around the same time there was a bunch of stuff, and I was getting rejection letters left and right. And I figured ‘oh no, not another one.’ I don’t think I even opened the envelope for a day or two.”

The St. Petersburg Arts Alliance announced the 20 recipients of the program in May. Stevens was awarded the grant on the strength of his proposal for “The Bob Project.” He received $1,000 to spread the gospel according to Bob, and put murals featuring his trademark robot on even more surfaces throughout St. Pete.

Stevens says he’s already working on the project, though the pandemic has slowed him down a bit.

“I did one, and I haven’t had a chance to do another one yet,” he says. “I do have a couple of locations lined up—well, semi-lined up.”

It’s up to Stevens to scout and procure locations for his Bob murals (which tend to be much smaller than the full-wall affairs associated with St. Pete and arts events like the SHINE Mural Festival). He thinks his next work will go up behind restaurant mainstay Pizza Box at 923 Central Avenue, and he’s talking to the owners of the new CellarMasters Wine Bar and Bottle Shop at 1005 1st Avenue North.

Courtesy Marko Stevens.

The idea for Bob came to Stevens during a project involving robots he was working on with some fellow Tampa Bay artists, including Zulu Painter and Jason Bromley.

“I started making these little robots out of cardboard and duct tape and wires, and one of them just looked really cool,” he says. “He looked like he had a bunch of personality. So I started painting it, and got a little cleaner and more refined, and there started to be stories associated with it, just little things that added to the patchwork until it became what it is now.”

What it is now is what they call “St. Pete famous”—there have even been shows where other artists have showcased their own interpretations of Bob. He’s definitely the work most closely associated with Aurailieus Artist, though Stevens says he’s not too concerned about being known more for one of his creations than the myriad others.

Courtesy Marko Stevens.

“I don’t really feel like that happens too much,” he says. “I try to stay out of it, as far as what people think [about his art]. I’ll be standing next to one of my paintings and people will be talking about it, and they don’t even know it’s mine—though I did get stopped at the Home Depot the other day.”