Tim Peterson
Dark of Night/
Light of Day
September 21, 2023 - December 1, 2023
This exhibition holds two distinct bodies of work:
one viewed in the light of day and the other much darker. Both depict gas stations, trailer parks and back alleys of the American West, architecture past its prime if it ever was.
These venues retain the dignity of function
even as derelicts in the making.
Theirs is a temporal life as is ours.
Tim Peterson
Biography
Born: 1954 Minot, ND
Education: Bachelors Degree in Studio Arts, Northern State University, Aberdeen SD 1975
Resides: Spearfish, SD
Tim Peterson has been a full time artist since 1979. He has participated in a legion of group shows including 7 South Dakota Governor's Exhibitions. A roster of solo exhibitions includes the Edward Hopper House and Museum in Nyack, NY, Washington Pavilion, Northern State University, Black Hills State University, South Dakota School of Mines, Dahl Fine Arts Center, and many commercial galleries.
He has participated in almost 40 plein air artists competitions winning over two dozen awards. Tim has work in many private and public collections including the South Dakota Art Museum, Washington Pavilion, Dahl Fine Arts Center, Northern State University, and the South Dakota Art for Public Buildings collection.
Tim owns Flat Earth Art Company, a commercial art studio in Spearfish, and is a signature member and past president of the Artists of the Black Hills, a signature member of the Northern Plains Watercolor Society and is the current chair of the Exhibits Committee of the Dahl Fine Arts Center.
Pastel Nocturnes & Watercolor
Annalope Cafe Wyo 287
Pastel Nocturnes
12x36"
$2,595
The title is a reference to its location. The now derelict cafe is on my route to see family. After driving by a multitude of times and always with my artists eye engaged, I finally decided to stop and put pencil to paper. The property is gated and I am aware of the possible reaction of landowners unsure of what this man is doing (meaning me!). I spent around 20 minutes visually surveying the scene and drawing what I saw. I allow my self minor liberties in the creative process such as moving utility poles (or even adding!) or simplifying complex architectural geometry (although not with this location) in service of trying to capture the emotion of what moved me to stop and look in the first place. I redraw the image on my painting panel using the grid method and begin color application with pastels.
Crossroad
Pastel Nocturnes
12x24"
$1,775
The scene depicted is I-90 Exit 10 on the north side of Spearfish. This particular exit has been the location of many fatal accidents and at one time was on the short list of roads to be reconfigured by SDDOT. This is not why I have chosen to paint this for the third time (and most likely, not the last). I am fascinated by the gently sloping topography and its overlapping curved roadways illuminated by orange sodium lights. It was a chilly night as I dressed in my insulated coveralls and perched on a rocky bluff overlooking my subject. The rock was full of holes and I could imagine a legion of snakes sunning themselves on a warmer day. With my headlamp lighting my panel, I completed a drawing on toned paper with a conte pencil and a few colored pencils, again, redrawing on my panel in the studio. For a setting that involves a high volume of transportation, this late fall depiction feels calming and has a sense of solitude I find appealing.
Curbside
Pastel Nocturnes
15x32"
$2,675
Curbside (Sturgis), Doghouse (on the road to Deerfield Lake), Paradise Lost (near Nogales AZ), Wyoming Heights (Moorcroft, WY), Heart of the Hills (Hill City), No Thru Traffic (Cody, WY), and Valley View (Spearfish) all feature that uniquely American architectural phenomenon. Personally, I have never lived in one although a great number of friends and family have or are currently. I hope not to cast aspersions or in any way make light of or disrespect those residents. That being said, I am fascinated by the gamut of everything from the architectural design, close physical proximity and socio-economic status of those communities. From the research I have done, I've come to understand that trailer houses were the answer to the post war housing crunch in the 1940's. I can tell the approximate age of a particular home by its stylings. The 40's and early 50's had streamlined versions followed by more elaborate detailing that coincided with the fins on cars of that era. The postmodern era that followed produced some rather painfully plain domiciles that predominate to this day. You could consider these units to be the precursor to the tiny home movement. All these factors come into play when I run across a mobile home community.
Wyoming Heights
Watercolor
14x20"
$1,785
Dog House
Watercolor
9x12"
$725
Paradise Lost
Watercolor
12x16"
$1,235
Last Chance Gas
Watercolor
14x20"
$1,785
Night Mill
Pastel Nocturnes
12x30"
$2,135
Valley Corner Night
Pastel Nocturnes
15x32"
$2,675