House in Pasadena

This is yet another "house" painting that I have recently completed. Entitled "House in Pasadena," it is a compilation of images I photographed during my vacation to Southern California in September 2008.

The structure in the painting is based on a home I saw on Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena, CA. The house itself was in the middle of a major renovation, and had windows removed and sections of wall under construction. Based on the style, I estimate it was originally constructed in the early 1900s. When I developed the composition for the canvas, I chose to add a background of distant mountain peaks reminiscent of the ones I had seen surrounding the Pasadena area. I also inserted a palm tree in dark silhouette, and improvised the night setting. I spent several sessions working up the lighting in the second-story window and the front porch area, and also creating the right reflections in the darker windows. This canvas was one of twenty that was featured in my solo exhibition at the Burke Arts Council in May of this year.

"House in Pasadena." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Completed January 2009.

Another visit to Rocky Mount

I'm taking a break this weekend from painting to play host to my parents for Father's Day. Yesterday we took a road trip out of Raleigh to eastern North Carolina. The first stop was the Rocky Mount Arts Center to see the juried exhibition in which I currently have one painting on display, "Fourth and Montgomery" (seen above). From there, we traveled to Wilson, NC to visit the North Carolina Baseball Museum at Fleming Field. The ballpark was constructed in 1939 as a WPA project, and was recently renovated to include the museum. Afterwards, we enjoyed genuine eastern NC barbecue at Parker's Barbecue in Wilson. It was lip-smackin' good!

House on Washington Street

In early January of this year I began a series of canvases based on houses and streets in Cumberland, Maryland. My parents live in the panhandle of West Virginia, and during my Christmas visit I drove to Cumberland to do my own walking tour of its historic district. I strolled up and down Washington Street, taking photographs and making mental notes on the architecture and atmosphere of this old railroad town.

To date I have completed six paintings based on my visit to Cumberland, this canvas being the first. It depicts one of the many large brick homes built in the late 1880s and '90s when Cumberland was a wealthy industrial center for Western Maryland. Today the city is struggling to hold its own, but - thanks to its relative proximity to Baltimore and Washington - many of its ornate Victorian houses have been restored and are now used as either second residences or B&Bs.

"House on Washington Street." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 30 inches. Completed January 2009.

Rocky Mount Arts Center National Juried Exhibition: Juror's Merit Award

Last night I attended the opening reception for the Rocky Mount Art Center's 52nd Annual National Juried Art Exhibition at the Imperial Centre. I was fortunate to be one of 15 artists (out of 283 entries) selected by juror Anne Lemanski for inclusion in the show. My painting, "Fourth and Montgomery" (seen on the left in the above image), was also awarded a Juror's Merit Prize ($100 cash award) by Ms. Lemanski. The exhibit includes artists from across the country and I felt very honored to have been among those chosen for the exhibition. The show continues through September 13, 2009.

The Rocky Mount Arts Center is located in the former Imperial Tobacco Company warehouse and factory in downtown Rocky Mount. It is a phenomenal facility that encompasses over 135,000 square feet of exhibition, performance and museum space. It is definitely a crown jewel for the City of Rocky Mount.

Burke Arts Council Show Closes

My solo exhibition at the Burke Arts Council closed on Friday and I drove up to Morganton, NC today to retrieve the canvases. A total of three paintings sold during the course of the show (out of 20 on display), so I was very pleased with the results. The newly renovated Jailhouse Gallery is wonderful, and I highly recommend a trip to Morganton to see it and the town. Morganton has a thriving cultural arts community and its location in the foothills of western North Carolina is very picturesque. My thanks go out again to Ann DiSanto, executive director for the BAC, for making this experience possible.

Favorite Museums: Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

One of my favorite local museums is the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University. Located about 30 minutes west of Raleigh, on the Duke University campus, the museum opened in 2005 and has produced some outstanding exhibitions since then.

This year I have visited twice, both times to see a show on the Bloomsbury Group entitled "A Room of Their Own." While the museum's collection concentrates on contemporary art, its exhibition schedule has included shows beyond that range, including a landmark exhibit for our area that featured the art of El Greco. Later this summer the Nasher will feature a Picasso exhibition entitled "Picasso and the Allure of Language.

For more information on the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, visit http://www.nasher.duke.edu/.

Cary Farmhouse Series: Fifth Post

Nine of the 20 paintings I have currently on display in the Burke Arts Council's Jailhouse Gallery are from my 2008 Cary Farmhouse Series. One of them is the painting seen above, "Farmhouse Study at Night." Recently purchased by a Raleigh collector prior to the opening of the exhibit, this canvas will be delivered to its new owner upon its return from Morganton, NC in early June.

Using source images taken at the farmhouse site during the day, I improvised a night scene for this painting in the series. The actual farmhouse is uninhabited, so I had to create the illusion of the porch light using my imagination. I also created the dusk-like sky from memory as well.

"Farmhouse Study at Night." Oil on stretched canvas, 12 x 16 inches. Completed in July 2008.

Leaving Las Vegas

I've just returned home from my first trip to Las Vegas, Nevada. While I expected to find "Sin City" over hyped and empty, I actually enjoyed my time there (and didn't spend a dime inside the casinos). In addition to the attractions along the famous Strip, I took day trip diversions to the Hoover Dam, Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, and Valley of Fire State Park. Another highlight was visiting the art collection and gallery of fine arts at the Bellaggio. Their current exhibit, on loan from the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, is "Lichtenstein, Warhol & Friends." The exhibit included pieces by those artists as well as Frank Stella, Ellsworth Kelly and Ed Ruscha.

Upon returning from Las Vegas, I learned that one of my paintings had sold in the Burke Arts Council show. The work, "House on Holly Springs Road," is the same piece featured in the exhibit invitation. Needless to say this was very exciting news, and totally unexpected. My thanks go out again to Ann DiSanto and the Burke Arts Council for their wonderful support of my efforts.

Burke Arts Council Exhibit Opens Tonight

My new solo exhibition, featuring 20 recent paintings, opens tonight (6:30-8:30 PM) at the Burke Arts Council in Morganton, North Carolina. The council's Jailhouse Gallery (so named because it is inside the former Burke County Jail) is located at 115 East Meeting Street. Due to the gallery's distance from Raleigh, and work/personal commitments, I will be unable to attend myself. The exhibit runs until May 29 and is open Tuesdays-Thursdays, 9 AM to 5 PM and Fridays 6:30 to 8:30 PM.

Burke Arts Council Show

Yesterday I delivered 20 paintings to the Burke Arts Council in Morganton, North Carolina for the solo show I will have in its Jailhouse Gallery during May. The exhibit will open on Friday, May 8 and run until May 29. The council's executive director, Ann DiSanto, was wonderfully accommodating and supportive, and I want to thank her and the Burke Arts Council for this great opportunity.

Tomorrow I will be delivering the painting "Fourth and Montgomery" to the Rocky Mount (NC) Arts Center for the show I was juried into this summer. Then, it's back inside the studio to begin the next series of canvases.

Jordan Hall Arts Center Exhibit Reception

Many thanks to the family and friends who attended last night's reception at the Jordan Hall Arts Center for my solo exhibition "Structure and Light: Paintings by Kenneth Eugene Peters." It was wonderful to see so many folks come out on what turned out to be a very hot evening in central North Carolina. The exhibit will remain on view until this Thursday, April 30.

On Friday, May 1st I will deliver 20 works to the Burke Arts Council in Morganton, NC for the May solo show I will have in its Jailhouse Gallery. That exhibit will run from May 8 through May 29.

Roanoke Rapids

It's been awhile since I posted any recent work. This painting, entitled "Roanoke Rapids," was completed at the end of 2008. The imagery is a compilation of scenes I photographed during a visit to Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina in February 2008. My destination on that trip was the Roanoke Canal Museum and Trail, a newly-opened historic site that preserves elements of the canal that was constructed in the 19th century to divert river traffic around the falls along the Roanoke River.

I had visited Roanoke Rapids as a young boy living in Maryland during the 1960s, and had a vivid memory of the huge dam upriver from the falls. Much to my pleasure, the canal trail ended at the dam (although security implemented after 911 now prevents visitors from accessing the viewing tower of the dam, as I had done 40 years earlier). The trail itself was a peaceful walk that included a section of crumbling ramparts from the old canal. Unfortunately, the canal museum was closed on this day, so I could only walk around its grounds rather than see the displays.

The two strongest images I left with that day were the billowing smokestacks from the huge paper mill in Roanoke Rapids, and the blocks of aging mill houses with their cyclops-like second story windows. The neighborhood that encompasses these mill houses has fallen into disfavor, and the homes stand today in a variety of conditions; some are even empty and near ruins. I was fascinated with their uniformity and style, and took a series of pictures of them. Then, back in the studio I developed this composition and superimposed the paper mill stacks in the background. While it is strictly a view composed in my mind, I feel it accurately captures the mood of this once-thriving mill town.

"Roanoke Rapids." 20 x 30 inches, oil on stretched canvas. Completed in December 2008.

Exhibition News

I have recently received two new exhibit opportunities:

The Burke Arts Council has offered me a solo exhibit opportunity as part of its gallery re-opening celebration after a major renovation. The exhibit will run from May 9-29, 2009 in the BAC Jailhouse Gallery, 115 Meeting Street, Morganton, NC.

Juror Anne Lemanski selected my painting "Fourth and Montgomery" for inclusion in the Rocky Mount Art Center's 52nd National Multi-Media Juried Art Exhibition. The exhibit will run May 23-September 13, 2009 at the Rocky Mount Arts Center, 270 Gay Street, Rocky Mount NC.

Edge of Night

This painting was the largest canvas I completed during the 2007 series of works based on my living room. Entitled "Edge of Night," I again depicted the large bay window that stretches more than eight feet along the southern wall of the room. I chose to depict it at night, relying on interior lighting this time instead of flooding sunlight. I especially enjoyed the multiple reflections created in the window by the hat-box lamp behind the figure. This painting is among the nine currently on display in my show at the Jordan Hall Arts Center.

"Edge of Night." 24 x 36 inches, oil on canvas. Completed January 2007.

"Structure & Light" Exhibit Opens at the Jordan Hall Arts Center

Last night I hung my new solo exhibition, "Structure and Light: Paintings by Kenneth Eugene Peters," in the Jordan Hall Arts Center Gallery. The show will run until April 30, 2009 and it includes nine works, all in oil. The Jordan Hall Arts Center is located at 908 North Harrison Avenue, Cary NC 27512. It is open Monday-Friday, 9 AM to 10 PM and Saturdays 9 AM to 4 PM. For more information on Jordan Hall, visit http://www.townofcary.org/depts/prdept/facilities/jhachome.htm

Winter's Light

Continuing the theme of last week's post, here is another in the short series of canvases I produced in 2007 that featured my living room and its huge bay window. I consider this work to be a sketch rather than a polished piece. I did not labor over it for more than a few hours and I don't consider it to be exhibition-worthy. Nevertheless, I was very pleased with the shadow effect created by the muntins in the bay window and the light that accented the green chair in the left-hand portion of the painting.

"Winter's Light." 16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas. Completed in June 2007.

Sunlight on a Pink Sofa

Periodically I will use the interior of my home as a source for new work. In 2007 I did a short series of small paintings depicting the large bay window in my living room and the lighting effect that is created by sunlight streaming through it. This canvas is one of those works.

The sofa seen in the painting is a large Hollywood-style sectional sofa that I purchased at an antique shop in Raleigh. At the time it was dilapidated and covered in a badly stained yellow-and-green oriental-themed fabric. However, the bones of the sofa were solid and a reupholstery job was all that was needed to bring it back to life.

The bay window is the most prominent architectural detail on the front of my house. It opens to a southern exposure, and the shadows created by the ever-present sunlight form intriguing shapes throughout the day. Another canvas produced in this series, "House at Dusk," shows the window in the evening when the street lights outside produce eerie shadows that create an almost menacing atmosphere within the room.

This painting will be featured in my solo exhibition "Structure and Light" which will be on display in the Jordan Hall Arts Center, Cary NC from March 31 to April 30, 2009.

"Sunlight on a Pink Sofa." Oil on stretched canvas, 14 x 11 inches. Completed in January 2007.

Chateau Marmont

Since returning from a vacation to California last September, I've completed two versions of the famed Sunset Strip hotel, the Chateau Marmont. The Marmont was located just a few blocks east of my host hotel along the Strip, so I walked by it frequently while visiting Hollywood. Its towering, fortress-like facade fascinated me every time I strolled by, and I took many photographs of it.

Opening in 1929, the hotel has hosted Hollywood royalty from its inception. It was a favorite hideaway for Greta Garbo, and Jean Harlow honeymooned at the Marmont. Perhaps its most infamous story surrounds "Saturday Night Live" actor-comedian John Belushi, who was found dead from a drug overdose in one of the Marmont's guest bungalows in 1982.

When I returned home from my trip, I decided to complete a small study of the hotel based on some of the photos I took while in California. The painting above was the result. I wanted to capture the hotel's mystery and allure in this canvas, so I chose a dark night scene. The complex sits high above Sunset Boulevard, and is especially intriguing at night. Having completed the small study, I decided to do a much larger version (30" x 24") a few weeks later. Unfortunately, the second work doesn't capture the Marmont's unique atmosphere as well as the small study did, and feels heavy and stilted. I will likely paint over that version at some point, but the small study is a personal favorite of mine.

For more information on the Chateau Marmont, visit http://www.chateaumarmont.com/ or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chateau_Marmont.

"Chateau Marmont Study." Oil on stretched canvas, 11 x 14 inches. Completed in October 2008.

Song of the Hurricane

This week I am featuring another figurative work on the blog. Entitled "Song of the Hurricane," the painting depicts a scene developed from my imagination, but also inspired by music.

While listening to the Rodney Crowell album "The Houston Kid" one day, the idea for this composition came to me during his rendition of the song "Telephone Road." I let the idea ruminate for several months before beginning the canvas. Using myself as a model, I combined a self-portrait sketch with a composition based on a photo I found on the Internet of Hurricane Wilma hitting south Florida in 2005. The plate-glass window was improvised, but the curtains and furniture are based on pieces I have in my own home.

"Song of the Hurricane." Oil on stretched canvas, 24 x 36 inches. Completed September 2007.

Cary Farmhouse Series: Fourth Post

This small canvas was the fourth painting I completed based on the Cary farmhouse that is located on Holly Springs Road (about five miles from my home). I decided to focus on the rooftop of the house with this work, since it has so many interesting angles created by the multiple gables.

I first covered the canvas in a cadmium red acrylic base as an underpainting. On top of that I roughly sketched my composition in burnt sienna oil paint. Then, I painted the rest of image, working in a loose and rapid manner. The entire painting was finished in a two-hour time frame.

"Farmhouse Rooftop." Oil on stretched canvas, 9 x 12 inches. Completed in February 2008.