Artwork by local artist Mark Peterson will be on display at the Lassen County Arts Council’s gallery on Cottage Street during the month of December, and the Council has a gala reception planned for this Tuesday, December 8th.
“People often say my paintings bring back memories,” says Peterson. “I see some of my works as a mental time machine in that sense, because many of the things I’ve painted are gone now. Country stores for instance, are now ‘quick stop’ markets. So I sometimes record our point in time. Renaissance masters painted before the era of cameras and without their paintings we wouldn’t know what their point in time looked like.”
Peterson points out that many beautiful works of art are also important windows into the past, depicting the people, towns and rural areas, clothing, technology, war, disasters, historical events, mythology, transportation, tools, agriculture, leisure, festivals and entertainment from specific periods in history.
“Other things I paint, simply because they are beautiful,” says Peterson. “In our fast paced modern world really we need something that can take us away from the day-to-day hassles and pressures in our lives. The best therapy is sometimes a simple, yet beautiful and peaceful scene that we can escape to for a few quiet moments after a tough day at work and let our imagination out to play.”
“When a painting is completed and the subject matter, color, contrast, light source, tones, dynamics and texture are all in balance and harmony is achieved, the effect is often far greater than what a photograph can produce. Many times, one cannot tell where the canvas begins, because the emulation of depth can be attained to a much higher degree than that of a camera.”
As for why Peterson feels the need to put brush and paint to canvas? “When I see it and it strikes me,” says Peterson, “I will paint it.”
In 2000 Peterson was winner of Best of Show at Turlock City Arts Commission’s 18th Annual Juried Spring Art Show and Sale. In November of 2007 he was invited to be part of a month-long show in the ICO Art Gallery in downtown Manhattan in New York City.
Everyone is invited to attend the gallery opening at 807 Cottage Street beginning at 5:30 Tuesday evening.
