Oil Painting

David Peterson

What drives David as an artist is the desire to connect emotionally with the viewer — to take some part of reality, filter it through his life experiences and artistic vision, yet leave enough unsaid so the viewer can feel and see something personal to them.rnrnDavid, a self taught painter living on the Sunshine Coast, grew up in rural North Dakota. Being raised in an isolated yet beautiful country environment and now residing amongst the Australian coast gives David many influences to draw upon.

Artist Profile

David, a self taught painter living on the Sunshine Coast, grew up in rural North Dakota. Being raised in an isolated yet beautiful country environment and now residing amongst the Australian coast gives David many influences to draw upon.

David only started painting a little over a year and a half ago, but has had a lifetime of art in his blood. He grew up with a pencil in hand and drew comic book and cartoon characters on anything he could get his hands on. David’s love of comics came from his dad’s extensive collection of 50s and 60s comic books — from superheroes to Disney characters. The faded colours and classic dialogue all had a deep impact. His dream was to become an animator and story teller.

Although David comes to painting only more recently, he’s always been fascinated by storytelling, human emotion and what motivates us in our daily lives. All of his life experiences have led him to the single focus on stories that are so critical to create a shared understanding — ultimately bringing us closer together.

His work invites curiosity by beginning to tell partial stories ranging from fragments of his childhood, comic book and fantasy, contemplation, and our desire to be needed.

Artist Interview

What medium do you work with, and why have you chosen them?

I use oil paints in my paintings. I originally shied away from them, but upon discovering their natural qualities, exquisite colours, and unique transparency and opacity, I fell in love. It will be more lifetimes than I'll ever have to truly discover a fraction of what can be done with them and that's exactly why they are the foundation to my work.

How does your artwork get from initial concept to exhibition stage?

Everywhere I go I look for inspiration from nature or from my own life experiences. Once something grabs me and speaks to me I begin with a quick sketch and take reference photos and gather other materials from my extensive collection of classic photo and art books. When I paint a portrait or a figurative piece, I have a continuous conversation with the painting… at a certain point it comes alive in my minds eye and I say “hello” to the this new creation, that's when I know the piece is done as I feel connected.

Can you tell us a little more about your creative working environment/studio?

I work from my home in a converted home office, it's cramped, it's messy, it looks like a tornado has smashed it to bits, but I love it and I know where everything is! It doesn't have any natural light though so I have two very nice soft lights that I can control to recreate natural daylight. It's definitely not the same, but it allows me to ensure I always paint under the same conditions. I enjoy plein air painting along with sketching out in public, this gives me a much needed break from the studio.