Ara Berberyan, or "Arbe," was born in 1958 and grew up in Soviet Armenia. The son of a distinguished artist and professor of Art and Design, he earned praise for his artistic talents as a youth, and by the age of 12, Arbe had his first exhibition. His paintings were sent by the U.S.S.R. on an International Tour, called "The World by Childrens' Eyes." This exhibition visited France, Italy, Canada, and the United States. 

When Arbe was older, he was invited to study at the University of Art & Design in Yerevan, Armenia. Although it was complicated to find books from the West, Arbe managed to obtain and study those of the artists he appreciated most: Dali, Picasso, Titian, Rembrandt and Klimt. As a scholar of art and design, books on Klimt particularly motivated Arbe. He earned his Master's Degree in 1981 and quickly began his career as a fine artist by accepting government commissions for murals at the Yerevan Airport, theaters, hotels and other government projects. 

In 1984, the 26-year-old artist was already quite accomplished, and emigrated to America where his older sister was already living. Always working with his hands, whether in carpentry, painting, or graphic arts, Arbe always steadily improved and expanded his artistic talent, eventually able to devote his time to the creation of fine art. His work is widely collected and exhibited around the world. Married with two children and based mainly in California, Arbe gives a brief insight into his creative process: “When I sketch, I do it loosely without intent or design. I sit and listen to music - Mozart, Verdi, Bach. I sketch on paper, not on the canvas, and then as it changes and takes shape, I will begin to work the canvas. Sometimes I like working on just one canvas, start to finish. It is a process... when I am all involved in it, time does not exist. Other times, my mood changes and so I move to another, and start a new painting. Later I can come back to it when the mood returns.”