Chris Peterson

Artists Statement

For some time now, I have been obsessed with neon signs as a subject for paintings.  They satisfy these primary requirements for the subject of a painting.  First, they have been done by some of my favorite American realist painters.  Besides, I think they have meaning on a whole different level than that of their words.  Even a cool design of a neon sign isn’t enough to capture my approval as a subject for a painting.  It has to do with the light of day, the angle of the view, illumination, reflections, and the moment in time.  I’m also pretty fascinated with the way light affects the surface of the glass tubing, the sheet metal and anything the sign is attached to.  Each of the paintings are of a photograph of a neon sign, so the image is at least two steps removed from the subject.  This satisfies my need for a unique kind of abstraction- at least in the process.  Sometimes as I look through a collection of photos that I’m considering for material to paint, I find myself attracted to a certain kind of of image quality that one can only see in a photograph, but which a painter would almost never use if he were painting plein-aire, or from life.  Things like lens flare, or reflections in the sheet metal and glass.  Sometimes I photograph a sign at such an acute angle that you can’t even read what it says. T hose are some of the best ones.  So, when Tom suggested Neon signs of Marin as the theme of this show, I thought this would be a really good fit.  To help choose the subjects for this series, I conducted an informal public-opinion poll on my web site, asking viewers which photos were their favorites.  Then I simply chose whichever ones I wanted to paint, and here they are. I hope you like ‘em.

I’ve been making illustrations for concert posters for about nine years now, starting with my favorite client, Bill Graham presents in San Francisco.  At first I wanted to put a few good samples in my portfolio, so I could get some advertising work.  What ended up happening is that I fell in love with the tradition, history and the creative process of concert poster design.  I get plenty of advertising work, but I still really love designing and illustrating posters.  I’ve done over 60 Fillmore and BGP posters, including one for Paul McCartney. Additionally, my poster clients include the Electric Factory Philadelphia, Metropolitan Entertainent New York, Phish, The String Cheese Incident, and many other bands.  My posters have helped me win more gold medals in the San Francisco Society of illustrators annual shows than anyone else in the last 8 years.