Peters Wood Artists Statement

“My art, whether it is through paintings, poems, or prose, tries to emphasize the human-animal bond. In a world that is constantly shrinking, I see the necessity of humans having to coexist with wildlife and vice versa. Through my art, I try to convey the importance of animals in our life. Whether it is a small caged hamster, or an osprey soaring far over the over glistening waters of a tranquil bay, a life without creatures different from ourselves, would be a life with no color, no sound and no meaning.
“ In all of my paintings a second story unfolds after careful examination, usually involving hidden animals. In the painting “Kites” the viewers eye is drawn to the upper right field where my husband and sons are flying a kite. The “second story” in the lower left corner shows a family of mice flying a similar kite. My cat has a startled look on his face as he observes the mice. The painting Max’s World depicts the fascination two year old children have with dinosaurs. A small plastic dinosaur rests on the seat of a dinghy next to my nephew while dinosaurs surround the boat.
“ The Launching” is the first in the World Voyagers series. In 2000, my husband and I launched a boat we built at our farm, for our global circumnavigation. The painting, done with multiple angles, depicts the myriad of ways we were approaching our lives at the time. Throughout the painting, are various mermaids- sirens whose call to the sea we could not ignore. The “second story” is about all the mice celebrating our leaving.
“ I was one of the first artists in Maine to paint outside the frame. My reason for doing this has always been to demonstrate that I am neither artist, nor veterinarian. Unable to be pegged neatly into either title, I lie just outside the realm of both.”