Meet the Artist

“I like when people don’t recognize a specific place in a painting,” says Peter Batchelder from his Amherst, New Hampshire, home, “but it reminds them of someplace they know.”  

Peter grew up on the campus of Walnut Hill School, outside of Boston, where his father was head of school. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in art, Peter developed his distinctive, evocative style of painting over decades of experimentation. He says his professional turning point came when “I began to paint what I feel, rather than what I see.”

Peter takes photos of scenes and references them to create works of charcoal that he edits and embellishes before shifting to a vibrant color palette and “invented light” for the final works in oil. About “Meadow Oak,” Peter says it may have been the dark russet tree line of oaks that first inspired him. He adds, “Rural architecture always tells stories. There are memories in that barn. I hope they draw people in.”

See more of his work at peterbatchelder.com. And to purchase a print of “Meadow Oak,” click here.