Peter Force

This is my first oil painting show. I primarily use soft pastels and charcoal and the move to oils has been a challenging one. Discovering how I wanted to use the paint and if it would work for me was at times, frustrating and rewarding. I set out to capture the energy and weight of the Kauri but I also wanted them to feel as immediate as my soft pastel art. The colours helped define each tree’s personality and its emotional core. Good art evokes an emotional response and that’s what I was aiming for. That’s what I’m always aiming for.

It’s difficult to analyse your own artistic style but if I had to, I’d say my art is focused on singular subjects and focal points. A face, a bird, a waterfall or a tree. I’m not trying to isolate them, I don’t want them to appear tragic or lonely. My art is a celebration of energy.

 

Five Minutes, Five Questions:

Do you have a favourite colour? At the moment I’m obsessed with unfiltered titanium white.

How do you take your coffee? Flat white with oat milk (very Auckland)

Is there something you can’t live without in your studio? Willow charcoal and a Mars Staedler eraser.

Who is your favourite artist of all time + now? Why? Right now I’m into Richard Deibenkorn. An American painter from the 1950’s. 

Five words that explain you or your art? 

Energetic, colourful, messy, passionate, big.