Candace Petersen
Artist's Statement and Bio

As a software systems analyst, I spent 30 years relying on graphical means to quickly communicate complex ideas. In 2005, I left the world of charts and diagrams behind to focus, instead, on portraying my feelings for the complex world around me. Particularly in plein air, painting is as much a spiritual exercise as an artistic one. It lets me temporarily become one with my environment - not something I wanted to do when I was surrounded by technology!

My favorite subjects are those where light and dimensionality play leading roles. Being "bi-coastal" with residences in coastal New Jersey and the north shore of Lake Huron in Michigan, I often draw my inspiration from dunes, farms, and forests. But the play of light against man-made structures also provides alluring subject matter, particularly when I travel.

My style varies by subject matter and medium. My graphite drawings are meticulous renderings of specimen plants and other natural objects, while my pastels are usually multi-layered meditations on landscape and architecture. I prefer to begin paintings in plein air, since it seems to imbue them from the beginning with atmosphere and texture. After painting outside on location for a couple of hours, I can return to the studio and, still feeling the weather and hearing the birdsong, be transported back to the vision that moved me.

As an artist, I am largely self-taught. I studied drawing with Mindy Lighthipe, and painting with a number of nationally known artists including Alan Flattmann, Richard McKinley, Stan Sperlak, and Kim Lordier. Other strong influences include the artwork and writings of Kevin Macpherson, Lois Griffel, and Richard Schmid. I am a member of the Great Lakes Pastel Society, the Pastel Society of New Jersey, the Degas Pastel Society and the Plein Air Painters of the Jersey Coast. I chair a pastel critiquing group called The Pastelists' Salon and am president of the Plein Air Painters of the Jersey Coast.

Articles
- Featured Artist in Purely Pastel, July-August 2009 issue

2011 Shows
-7/28 to 9/8: "Pastels North" Great Lakes Pastel Society - Upper Penisula Chapter
Bonifas Art Center, Escanaba, MI (Reception 7/28, 7-9 pm)

-9/1 to 10/31: "Italy and Elsewhere"
Via 45 Restaurant, Red Bank, NJ

-9/3 to 9/19: "Three Village Arts VI"
Three Pines Studio, Cross Village, MI

-9/26 to 10/2: "Plein Air Brandywine Valley"
Paint Out Schedule with participant bio and gallery, Brandyvine Valley, PA

-10/29 to 11/29: "A Breath of Plein Air" Annual Members Show, the Plein Air Painters of the Jersey Coast
Middletown Arts Center, 36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ (Reception 11/19, 7-9 pm)

-10/29 to 11/19: "17th Membership Exhibition"
Degas Pastel Society, New Orleans, LA

-11/1 to 11/30: "Plein Air Painters of Atlantic Highlands"
The Painted Frame, Atlantic Highlands, NJ

-Upcoming November, 2011 "Spaces/Places" - (Being rescheduled due to Hurricane)
Verde Gallery, 4492 Route 27, Kingston, NJ

2010 Shows
- 5/8 to 8/1: Great Lakes Pastel Society 2010 National Show
Alden B. Dow Museum of Science and Art, Midland MI

- 6/3 to 7/5: Monmouth County Library Equine and County Parks Show
Monmouth County Library, Shrewsbury, NJ

- 6/26: River Views 2010 Benefit Gala
Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, NJ

- 7/11 to 8/11: River Views
Veranda Fine Art and Gift Gallery, Fair Haven, NJ

- 8/14 to 9/11: Art, Plein and Simple
Great Pacific Frame Shoppe & Art Gallery, Pt. Pleasant, NJ

- 11/4 to 12/31: Winter Delights 1010 - Plein Air and Beyond
Middletown Arts Center, Middletown, NJ

Galleries
- Candace is represented by Cafe Artiste and Frederick Galleries, both in Spring Lake, NJ