“To paint is to make the brush sing,” according to Cheryl Peters, the impressionist painter whose body of work will be exhibited for the month of July at Lebanon Picture Frame and Fine Art Gallery. The general public is cordially invited to sample this graceful aria, composed of landscape, nature and still life paintings. The exhibit will commence with an Artist’s Reception on July 5th, from 5 to 8 PM as part of the First Friday Art Walk in Downtown Lebanon.
Based in rural Clarks Valley near Harrisburg, PA, Peters finds inspiration from nature and her extensive travels in the States and abroad with her husband. Even though Peters has always enjoyed photography as an art form and is able to view the world through the keen lens of a photographer, she has received no formal art education. Astonishingly, until her retirement in 2003, Peters has had a full career in the State Department as a Certified Government Financial Manager. Peters started her second act gradually by taking up painting on porcelain, and then expanded into watercolor, acrylic, portrait sketching, and oils. Peters has since developed her own unique style and furthered her artistic skills by attending workshops, tutorials and being connected to online social media groups with her fellow painters.
Peters’ latest group of works is exclusively in acrylic. The artist typically utilizes photographic images she has taken as the basis of her paintings. “A painting may begin with a particular approach in mind,” remarked Peters, “but once started, it takes on a life of its own.” Like a great musical performance, Peters prepares the surface of her painting with a prelude of underpainting in textured monotone before filling in base colors, shadows and highlights. Peters sought to bring a sense of tranquility to her viewers. “I find a peace when painting that I find nowhere else and I want the viewer to feel that as well,” she said.