Philip Peters Jr.

I am primarily an oil painter. Oil just always seemed right to me. Although I usually paint on canvas, I am increasingly using cradled board because I love its smoothness.  In the last couple of years, I have also begun to experiment with watercolor.

I paint humans more often than landscapes. You could describe my art as representational with a pinch of simplification or abstraction. I love a lot of color and some texture, too. Ultimately, I try to bring my subjects to life and to preserve a moment or a mood.

When preparing to paint, I try to match my technique to my subject by selecting the techniques and materials that will produce features that I would like to see in this particular painting.  Examples include the amount of texture on the surface, the level of gloss in the paint, the amount of luminance reflected to the viewer (leading me to play with watercolor) or the level of detail that I want for a particular painting.

My work has been shown in the Boone County Art Show, Orr Street Gallery, Paul Pepper Studio, Runge Nature Center and many of the Columbia Art League’s juried events, winning multiple awards. I have been selected in multiple years to paint a piece for the Tigers on the Prowl charity auction. I also serve on the Board of Directors of the Columbia Art League and am struggling to learn the tenor sax.  I am a retired MU law professor and a long-time participant in local nonprofits which strive to reduce achievement disparities. Before that, I was an attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice.