Paradise Van Painting

In his work Peter researches fragile protection, captured in synonyms like tents, jackets, and treehouses. Things that protect us to a certain extend only. He painted men in ice bear suits, endearing and protective, but dangerous at the same time. Peter’s paintings moved towards landscapes that express longing for a return to nature. His works got characterized by escapism. The tendency to flee from everyday reality, expressed in painting the supernatural and mysterious. Sub-tropical regions appear in his work. His works glorify nature, and he developed an appreciation for wilderness as the most authentic form of nature. Cabins and tents in his landscapes symbolize fragile stays. Peter paints with egg tempera that he produces himself. He applies several thin glazing layers onto the canvas. Combining this layering and the use of oil paint creates a depth that allows the viewer to enter the artwork. Born in Den Helder Peter feels connected to the seaside. Fragile dunes that protect the ones living behind it and the beach that offers a view on the horizon. Despite a sight of just 5 km the feeling of being small and part of a bigger whole often occurs to him. Painting the horizon is not just the natural border of what we see but an image of the infinite. The world goes on further behind the line that separates the earth from the sky. When the sun disappears behind it, a sense of time and impermanence arises leaving us be tempted into melancholy. Peter paints paths leading to the sea with those attracted to it, like surfers and beachcombers. It’s disturbing to see humanity depleting, polluting, and destroying the natural beauty with ever increasing speed. Where taming and controlling the landscape was a way to make it livable, our domination seems to lead to our own downfall in the form of natural disasters. In his work arising social unrest is captured by monkeys that watch us from the greenery. Astronauts in protective suits on earth. And plant carriers on the move with indoor plants looking for protection elsewhere. Peter’s dreamy landscapes, filled with detail and specks of light, inhabited with a tent, cabin, or campervan placed in the wild speaks out a humble attitude towards nature. There is no illusion that we can protect ourselves better against the forces of nature other than to relearn to live with it. Finding new ways to adapt to a landscape that is never finished.