Artist of the Week 41
Peter Batchelder
Born in Beverly, MA on Boston’s North Shore, Peter Batchelder has spent time living throughout New England in both coastal and western Massachusetts, Martha’s Vineyard, Vermont and, currently, New Hampshire. Batchelder trained in studio art at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (BFA 1987) under artists Jack Coughlin, Lionel Gongora, John Grillo, and Hanlon Davies.
Having established himself as a successful Creative Director and designer, Batchelder continued pushing his studio work and opened a small gallery in Vineyard Haven, on Martha’s Vineyard, where he lived year-round for three years in the early 90’s. Upon returning to the mainland, he co-founded, as Creative Director, a web design and software company based in New Hampshire, while maintaining his studio practice. His work is represented by prestigious galleries in the Boston area, Vermont, Cape Cod, New Hampshire and Hilton Head Island, SC. Batchelder also annually donates work for the benefit of local non-profits, including Boston’s WGBH public television and Fenway Health.
Throughout his life, Batchelder has had the benefit of living in different rural environments within New England. From the coastal landscapes of Massachusetts to the woods, mountains and farmlands of New Hampshire and Vermont, Batchelder has experienced the differences in nature, geography, and light in these varied environments. Batchelder’s childhood interests in architecture and archaeology led him to consider the context of time-worn structures within the New England landscapes. He is fascinated on many levels when coming across a barn or seaside cottage.
From an artist’s perspective, Batchelder is interested in the nature of the architecture, how it sits within its landscape, color and light. From a personal perspective, he finds himself often curious about the story of the building: who built it and why; the many people who have lived or worked in the building; how the landscape may have changed around the structure over the course of years. He finds that the curiosity he has about the building intertwines with the creative process in his interpretation of the architecture and landscape in one image.
In some of his work, Batchelder feels that the outcome is that the architecture serves as the sentry for the landscape and in other cases the opposite. Because he removes extraneous details from both the landscape and architecture he paints, it is his hope that a viewer will be challenged by the image to let their own curiosity create a story. Batchelder has long been influenced by the works of Andrew and Jamie Wyeth, Edward Hopper, and Winslow Homer for their approach to depicting the landscapes around them. And for color, he has loved the abandonment of “real” color found in the work of Wolf Kahn and Richard Diebenkorn… particularly their use of light and color to define subject and mood.
Batchelder typically begins a piece with multiple sketches in either graphite or charcoal to work out the composition. Then he often transitions to small pastel studies to experiment with palette. He uses many layers of paint in his work to allow himself to pull the undercolor to the surface and create depth and movement to highlight form and the way light defines a subject.
Contact Lily Pad Gallery West for information on pricing and to view additional works by Peter Batchelder.
(414)-509-5756
info@lilypadgallery.com
To learn more about Peter Batchelder, and view his expanded portfolio, visit his website:
