The Spirit Peter van Straten paints intriguing stages in the journey of any life that fascinates him, without pinpointing any ultimate goal. Humoristic, from a distance and in any case magical. Working oil in canvas only, to use the glassy oil filtration. To make the magic of light visible and palpable. Peter regards paintings as crucial reminders (in the homes in which they come to live) of forgotten states of being: of play and the pure intelligence of childhood; of the secret holiness of things; of the depth and significance of stillness, so often forgotten in the busyness of daily life
The Art Peter van Straten has a dichotomous relationship to paint. On the one hand, like all painters, he loves the physicality of brush and paint, which celebrate the canvas surface. On the other hand he strives for the total subversion and transformation of surface, so that the painting becomes a window, into another place, or state of being. As if through the alchemy of glazing (the technique of very gradually building up very thin, translucent layers of paint) he could turn canvas into window-pane glass. This dichotomy in technique mirrors a dichotomy of love. The vital brush stroke, free and wild, expresses love of the moment - beauty that is felt, rather than thought, and the sheer physical pleasure of expression.
Market feedback • Today’s Dali! Fabulous. Magic realism of the best quality available. • So intriguing that you really have to force yourself to get out of the influence of the experience of each picture. Breathtaking! • One of his works opened a total new perspective in my life. A projection that created a whole new perception. It was like the color of my glasses changed dramatically and showed me another, yet very familiar world.
