ED PETERSON
IN THE ARTIST'S WORDS
Respect is a theme that seems to rattle around a lot in my thinking and in my work. The subjects I paint are often those which might be misunderstood or not fully appreciated. Whether I am painting bison, or crows, or what some may read as atypical Western landscape, I am trying to understand and communicate some respect of their spiritual or essential beauty. I have immense respect for anything I paint and I try to communicate that respect through my work.
As one example, I have been painting container ships recently and I am struggling with how to express their importance. On one level, it’s a big steel structure that’s been battered around in the ocean. What kind of story could that ship tell us? But even more meaningful to me are the human beings on the ship. What are their stories? Where are their families? Where do they live, what have their lives been like, what are their priorities?? These big vessels actually contain a lot of tenderness. There are people on board who are poets, astronomers, musicians devout readers. There’s tremendous human content on these ships. In my painting, the humans are not generally visible. Sometimes, the ship itself maybe the only form. But those human stories are part of what I am feeling when I paint the images and I want to honor and respect them through my work.
One of the ways that I try to communicate my respect for the subjects I paint is through my use of color. It has been a humbling experience and to me, there is no right way or wrong way as long as the use of color is respectful of the subject matter. My previous career was in music and my approach to color is not unlike dissonance and consonance in music. As long as their is relief in another part of the painting, I think any color can be used. There needs to be tension and relief and they should express something about the character of the subject.
I learn something new about painting every time I work. And I learn something new about me as well. I recently came to accept the fact I struggle with anxiety and have my entire life. I had the false belief that one could cure it and it would be gone forever. And I could never understand why I couldn’t beat it. I have now accepted the fact that it is with me all the time. Every minute of every day and I need to take charge of how to control it. If I’m having an anxiety attack, one the best remedies is to stop what I am doing and come in and paint. Then I’m transformed into the subject matter on the canvas and forget my anxiety.. It’s been my salvation and for that, I’m very grateful.
In the end, I hope that my paintings communicate my happiness and joy. I don’t compare my work to others. We are all individuals, we have our own fingerprints and our own way of looking at the world. I feel very lucky to have found this creative outlet at this stage of my life. I hope that my work might serve as an inspiration to others my age to keep working at what they love and to live life to its fullest.
As one example, I have been painting container ships recently and I am struggling with how to express their importance. On one level, it’s a big steel structure that’s been battered around in the ocean. What kind of story could that ship tell us? But even more meaningful to me are the human beings on the ship. What are their stories? Where are their families? Where do they live, what have their lives been like, what are their priorities?? These big vessels actually contain a lot of tenderness. There are people on board who are poets, astronomers, musicians devout readers. There’s tremendous human content on these ships. In my painting, the humans are not generally visible. Sometimes, the ship itself maybe the only form. But those human stories are part of what I am feeling when I paint the images and I want to honor and respect them through my work.
One of the ways that I try to communicate my respect for the subjects I paint is through my use of color. It has been a humbling experience and to me, there is no right way or wrong way as long as the use of color is respectful of the subject matter. My previous career was in music and my approach to color is not unlike dissonance and consonance in music. As long as their is relief in another part of the painting, I think any color can be used. There needs to be tension and relief and they should express something about the character of the subject.
I learn something new about painting every time I work. And I learn something new about me as well. I recently came to accept the fact I struggle with anxiety and have my entire life. I had the false belief that one could cure it and it would be gone forever. And I could never understand why I couldn’t beat it. I have now accepted the fact that it is with me all the time. Every minute of every day and I need to take charge of how to control it. If I’m having an anxiety attack, one the best remedies is to stop what I am doing and come in and paint. Then I’m transformed into the subject matter on the canvas and forget my anxiety.. It’s been my salvation and for that, I’m very grateful.
In the end, I hope that my paintings communicate my happiness and joy. I don’t compare my work to others. We are all individuals, we have our own fingerprints and our own way of looking at the world. I feel very lucky to have found this creative outlet at this stage of my life. I hope that my work might serve as an inspiration to others my age to keep working at what they love and to live life to its fullest.
ABOUT EDWARD
Ed began painting at the age of 79 in 2011. He was on a trip to Jackson, WY and was inspired by the honesty he felt was present in the Western art he saw there. He had the good fortune to spend time with some very generous, deep thinking, sincere artists who shaped his thinking about art and how to approach it with seriousness and humility. Since then, he has been painting almost every day and it gives him great joy. He would not have imagined that he would embark on such a journey at this stage in his life and is humbled and grateful to be doing this every day.