Peterson Contemporary Art

Their children's imaginations play a large part in their parent's work, "Our kids are what make this place feel alive," say Robin and John about their 15 acre home and studio in Washington State.

"I love light! I love reflection, and shadow. There is also an importance given to the narrative, without boxing it in. Czeslaw Milosz is one of my favorite poets, and his way of "celebrating the ordinary" is also a focal point I find in my work. I want to tell stories with images, to hold the viewer long enough to engage the intrinsic ideas they themselves brought to the narrative." Glenn Ness

"From my home, I now set out into deserts, up craggy limber pine ridge-tops and down into river canyons, to capture in pen the stark forms of trees, hills and valleys into compositions. Later, I paint their lines, redrawing these simple lines onto the surface of metal, layering each with intense color and depth of light. While it is neither conceptual nor literal, there is something about the subject of the trees of which I never tire. It seems as though these forms each have a story to tell." Jerri Lisk

“I paint impressionistically with mixed mediums, using strong composition, clear focus, and bold use of color to convey the sense of movement I am after. My subjects of choice - the human figure and portrait, wild horses and ravens, rocks and waterscapes - each evoke a strong sense of mood, presence or movement.” Dawn Emerson

"I try to translate the eye's fleeting perception of the world around me into the permanence of paint. This is not an imagined or photographic process, it is the actual way the eye catches light in the act. To paint is to re-enact, to choreograph inside the confines of a rectangular frame, to select and simplify from the complexity of stimuli, until the lived experience is clearly on the canvas. Anything may be subject matter." Maggie Siner

“I want the viewer to connect with my work on an emotional level. Sometimes that means simplifying details to get to the essence of a scene. The analogy between an artist and a novelist demonstrates my aspirations. I’m more concerned with making poetry than I am in writing a textbook.” Brian Sindler

"I am influenced by the interconnection between humanity and nature. The organic qualities of my work stem from my love and respect for nature and its mysterious repetition of line and form. Working from my visual memory, the figuration appears and disappears within the shapes and gestural movements... it's perception vs. reality that intrigues me." Shar Coulson

"Leonardo Da Vinci once said that "simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". I have found great inspiration and purpose from observing the simple things in my daily surroundings - particularly those found in nature. My aim as an artist is to pay homage to these creations and to allow the viewer to connect in a new and deeper way to the subject." Tyler Swain

“You don’t have to know about art – you just have to enjoy it!” Amy Sullivan

"My work is about the industrial mundane, the urbanized deserts and the metropolis serenity. It is very interesting, to me, to witness the ironies of deafening mobilization and sentimental stillness interlaced within highly developed and overcrowded cities. My ideas examine the notions of alienation vs. congregation that occurs at a particular point in time, in very specific locations." Donald Yatomi

“A good painting begins with experience–often outdoors in the elements. I prefer to focus less on capturing a visual snapshot and more on a dynamic observation which employs all my senses. When I paint alone outdoors or in the studio, I try to press into the silence to wake up to what’s actually in front of me. That’s when I can really feel and connect to the subject and express it through my medium.” Anton Pavlenko

"I like old things that are marked up and well used, and left alone for natural elements and time to take their course. I find great beauty in the character of a chipped up wall, an eroded coastline, the Grand Canyon from space, or a scratched up dumpster door. I revel in the build up and breakdown of things. Erosion caught at the right time. I impress to create this in my work. Away from done or undone, a timeless beauty in the here and now. The meantime." Korey Gulbrandson

"I'm drawn to old structures, falling down barns, fences and houses. I love the sense of history, fragility, and secrets they exude. I like creating color harmony, so the focus is on shape, composition and edges, although colorful paintings have a place in my work." Sandra Pratt

"The power and potential for nature to engage the human conscious is not dictated by race, class, or culture. Nature does not discriminate and is inclusive to all viewers. We reflect on ourselves when we see the behaviors of animals and question our individual relationships to each other and the Earth. It is because of this power that we propose to bring the outside in with our work". Kollabs

“In addition to my representational response to the natural world around me, I combine spontaneous intuition, abstraction, and symbolism, in my paintings to capture the essence of my subjects. My goal is to create images that have a truly meaningful and lasting impact on the viewer.” Scott Switzer

"My curiosity about nature, collecting remnants of plants, trees, bones and other found objects from walks in the woods, combines with my day to day suburban existence in these paintings. The mix of found, collected and bought objects unite visually as the tactility of the observed forms translates into the tactile quality of the paint ultimately relaying the feeling of an integrated world". Edmond Praybe

"Animals resonate with my core, and I am impressed upon by them - by their presence, their appearance, their mystery and message. Like attracting like. Throughout all of recorded time, humans have depicted animals in their art. They help us relate to our world, often acting as intermediaries between the civilized and the wild, between the known and the mysterious. Animals are a link to the sacredness of all that is." Rebecca Haines

"Sitting side by side with my father, I learned very early what painting meant to me, and it became a special bond to my father and me." Cathrine Edlinger-Kunze

"To be working this closely with nature is a blessing, but also often overwhelming. It is a struggle. At times I find myself needing to put my foot down, to control the outcome of my work, only to find that I trampled something beautiful. At other times I feel overwhelmed, scared: what is needed of me here, how can I match the beauty of this living thing? How am I to know when to be loud and when to be quiet...? Maybe this stuff just matches my personality, something to wrestle with, something that stirs my imagination, something to control. That nature versus man-made thing, that struggle, that tension, that conflict." Christian Burchard

"When I paint, I am taking a journey, but I hope to leave behind a map of what has been discovered and perhaps inspire others. I strive to create imagery that will invite people to take a deep breath, drop their shoulders and let down their guard. I think with words, but I feel with colors. My work is the record of my experiences, and a mark of my place in the world..." Valerie Winterholler