Tonight, 5-7:30pm
Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana
Michelle Peterlin Retrospective
Opening Reception
The Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana is pleased to present a solo exhibit from local artist, Michelle Peterlin. This retrospective includes 22 pieces of Peterlin’s work. The exhibit will run from April 12th to May 16th. Join us for an opening reception April 25th from 5-7:30pm at the Arts Council, located at 318 Main Street in downtown Evansville. The reception is free and open to the public. To see more of Peterlin’s works and to learn more about the artist click here. Join the Facebook event by clicking here. Scroll down for the artist’s statement.
Michelle K. Vezina Peterlin
Artist’s Statement
I was a student under John Grillo during my college years at the University of Massachusetts. Mr. Grillo is considered the Father of American Expressionism.
I consider myself an expressionist artist. When I get an idea for a composition, I am at first interested in the pattern of colors, lines and how it relates to the other parts in the composition. I am attracted first to color. Once I have worked out what the piece will look like, I will manipulate it to provoke mood and emotion.
I work primarily in acrylic because it has intense color pigmentation and dries quickly allowing for a lot of glazing. I start my painting by drawing out the composition in pen then covering the canvas in a dark color, usually raw umber. Next, I build up the color, layer upon layer, until I get the intensity I am looking for.
I have been a professional artist for over 20 years.
I am fortunate to be able to travel. When I am in a new place, I love to look for its quiet, moody corners. I am attracted to glass, store fronts and windows with a view.
My work chronicles places I have been and painted. They are from all over the world and the United States. Some pieces are purely composites of objects that interest me. Some are mementos of a place or an event I loved and wanted to remember.
I paint on a large scale because I want to viewer to feel immersed in the piece. I want them to feel the mood in the composition and glimpse at places that are ordinary but special in everyday life.
I hope this exhibit will take the viewer on a journey where they write their own story about what they see.