J.C. Leyendecker

I'm selling my J.C. Leyendecker painting through the Heritage Illustration Art Auction in NYC this October... it is 24 x 16 inches, oil on canvas.

Leyendecker was one of the most successful commercial illustrators of his time, best known for his advertisements for the "Arrow Collar Man." He created 321 covers for the Saturday Evening Post, and he was the only artist to paint more Post covers than Norman Rockwell.

This painting is a preliminary study that Leyendecker painted for the March 23, 1940 Saturday Evening Post cover for Easter (below).

William Wendt Sketchbook

I just got this William Wendt sketchbook full of drawings, color notes, and even poems. I got one of the Wendt drawings earlier and posted it here. The owner of my gallery in La Jolla (K. Nathan Gallery) picked it up at the Moran auction. He has framed up a few of the drawings, then sold me the remainder of the sketchbook. It's an awesome little piece of history. The interior is dated 1909 and is signed by William Wendt in ink. I even matched up a few of the drawings in there with paintings that Wendt executed. I thought it would be a real treat to share, and maybe sell some of the drawings myself. Email me if you're interested... tonypetersart@sbcglobal.net I'm going to continue to post more sketches here over time.

BoldBrush Painting Competition... "Buick Convertible"

http://faso.com/boldbrush/painting/20012

So far I'm ranked #7 in the May 2011 BoldBrush Painting Competition with my entry, "Buick Convertible, San Diego Freeway" oil on canvas, 16 x 41 inches. If you haven't already, please kindly visit the link above and hit its Facebook "like" button, I would appreciate it :-)

Another magazine article... Southwest Art Magazine May issue

Southwest Art Magazine picked me for "Best of the West" in the new May issue (page 28). My painting "Dog Walker, Banker's Hill" is pictured.

It's on newsstands now, along with my feature in American Art Collector's May issue as well.

American Art Collector feature article

I just got the May issue of American Art Collector, where I am featured on pages 126 and 126. 

 The article features three of my paintings, "The Fall", "Buick Convertible, San Diego Freeway", and "Graffiti Bridge".

It is promoting my upcoming exhibition at K. Nathan Gallery in La Jolla, the show opens on May 14th, 2011.

The Gallery Says... "Tony has joined an elite group of American artists painting impressions of our urban environment. Southern California is an especially fertile ground for harvesting psychological reflections of city life."

- Keith N. Kelman, Owner, K. Nathan Gallery



The Fall

"The Fall" oil on canvas, 36 x 54 inches. I started this large piece nearly two years ago, and I posted preliminary drawings here. Meanwhile, I've finished several other paintings, while I picked away at this one as a long-term project. When I initially came up with my idea for "The Fall", I wanted to include two figures in a landscape, and I had been looking at a lot of Rennaissance painting.

I actually enjoyed painting all the leaves both on the bush and the ground. The underlying theme of the piece is in part about leaving civilization and going off into nature... somewhat of a departure for me, because I'm mostly known for my urban landscapes. But painting the figure has an organic quality to it, and studying nature has been rewarding to me.

The snake on the ground is supposed to be somewhat hidden from the viewer, as it is un-noticed by the couple in the painting as well.

"Over San Diego" or "Winter's Glow, San Diego"

This new piece is either called "Winter Glow, San Diego" or "Over San Diego"... 16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas. Which title do you prefer?

The location is just south of downtown San Diego, overlooking the Coronado Bridge in the background. The two models I used, Brandi and Justin, also appear in another painting I just finished. The pattern of leaves behind the figures was enjoyable to paint, and a challenge. I like the mood of the piece, the day was overcast, and the soft lighting worked well.

Suong Yangchareon

I was up in Pasadena on Wednesday and had lunch with an old friend of mine, Suong Yangchareon. He gave me this invite (pictured above) for his exhibition at Paul Thiebaud Gallery in San Francisco. The reception is next Tuesday, March 8th, from 5 to 7pm. Paul Thiebaud Gallery is located at 645 Chestnut Street, San Francisco, CA 9413. They have a number of fantastic painters in their stable of artists, including Wayne Thiebaud, David Fertig, Celia Reisman, and Eileen David, just to name a few.

I first got to know Suong about 14 years ago when I was working as an assistant at the Mendenhall Gallery in Pasadena, where Suong exhibited his work (and later, I did too). We got to be good friends, and Suong became an early influence upon me (as well as Richard Bunkall) in painting the urban landscape. We would gallivant around Los Angeles shooting photos of old diners, city streets, and panoramic views of LA wherever they could be found. As a wedding gift, Suong gave Holly and I this painting (below) called "San Pedro" 18 x 36 inches, acrylic on canvas...

"San Pedro" by Suong Yangchareon. 18 x 36 inches, acrylic on canvas

Liquor Store Nocturne, Escondido

"Liquor Store Nocturne, Escondido" 12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas.

I finally have my exhibition date scheduled for May 14th, 2011 at K Nathan Gallery in La Jolla. There will be nearly 30 paintings, the biggest and best show of my career to date. Currently I'm working on an exhibition catalog, and other materials for promotion. I'm exhausted, excited, and eager to see it all come together.

This new piece is called "Liquor Store Nocturne" 12 x 12 inches, oil on canvas. I'm painting a few Liquor Store pieces, I love the old signage, and the feel of a night setting. And more than a few of my figures lately have been on the phone... symbolic of trying to reach out and make a connection, or perhaps escape lonliness or anxiety.

New York Nocturne, Union Square

This new painting is called "New York Nocturne, Union Square", oil on canvas, 13 x 18 inches. The model is my wife's little sister, Bretony, who came along with us to New York (along with my painting pal, Bill Wray).

This piece started out quite differently, I dismissed my photo reference and painted it from my imagination, and cropped the composition. I removed the umbrella that she was carrying at an earlier stage in the work, and replaced it with the cell phone that's Bretony's constant companion. I like how it turned out, it kinda has a George Tooker feel to it.

Shortly after our New York trip, Bretony moved there... she still hasn't put down her cell phone.

Buick Convertible, San Diego Freeway

"Buick Convertible, San Diego Freeway", oil on canvas, 16 x 41 inches.

I just finished this piece, along with several others, so I'll be posting each of them here soon.

Dog Walker, Banker's Hill

I have several new paintings that I have just finished, and I thought I'd share one of them... this is "Dog Walker, Banker's Hill", oil on canvas, 12 x 12 inches.

In anticipation of my solo exhibition at K. Nathan Gallery in La Jolla, I took my works in progress down to the gallery and we set a show date for May 14th, 2011. I'll have twenty paintings in the show, most of which are brand new and have never been exhibited anywhere else. I'll be posting new pictures of the artwork in weeks to come.

Paint-out with Dan Pinkham

My sketch of Ignat painting "Portuguese Bend".

This last Saturday, the California Art Club had it's first Mentor Member paint out, hosted by Dan Pinkham at his home and studio in Palos Verdes. I stayed at my pal, William Wray's place, and we drove up together. Also in attendance was Ignat Ignatov, Aaron Westerberg, Sergio Sanchez, Stan Prokopenko, Justine Carroll, Leonardo Lambaren, and Ann Lee (who snapped the photos).

I took the opportunity to do a number of sketches while everyone else painted. I posted my favorite sketch above... maybe I'll paint it? Dan Pinkham told us about his method of starting with a sketch, and writing why you want to select a particular view before painting it. It struck a chord in me, the heart of why I paint... to make a connection. What I bring of myself to the painting, and the landscape before me. Dan also made some technical pointers in his demo that will serve as tools to me in my own color mixing.

At Dan's Studio, he showed us boxes and boxes full of his plein-air paintings from the last several decades, all of which he's kept for himself and uses as reference to work up studio paintings. After the paint-out, we we did a critique of everyone's work. Dan then went on to expound brilliantly on painting, and tell colorful stories.

Beyond teaching me some of the mechanics of painting, I felt that Dan, through his example, taught an even greater lesson in humility, and reminded me of the honor in hard work. Nobody wanted to leave at the end of the day, it was totally inspirational. Made me want to get out and work more on location again too!

VIDEO: "Looking In on Tony Peters"

Looking In On Tony Peters from Holly Peters on Vimeo.

An introduction to the artist Tony Peters and his paintings.

William Wendt Sketches

William Wendt Sketch "Girl Under a Tree"

William Wendt Sketch "Haystacks"

William Wendt's painting "Haystack" 16 x 20 inches, oil on canvas.

Keith at my gallery in La Jolla (K. Nathan Gallery) just picked up William Wendt's sketchbook at auction, the sketches in it were done somewhere around 1910. He has taken the drawings out and had them each beautifully framed for display. Keith was generous enough to give me a great deal, and I had the pleasure of being able to add this particular double-sided sketch to my personal collection (above).

I really loved the drawing of the girl sitting under a tree in the shade, especially since I have been focusing so much on the figure lately, plus I admire William Wendt's work so much anyway. It appeared to be the only figure in the entire sketchbook. On the reverse was this drawing of a haystack. I was excited to discover this corresponding image to go with it. The sketch appears to be the preliminary drawing for Wendt's painting, "Haystack".