Peter Seltzer

Peter Seltzer's paintings in oil and pastel have been exhibited at numerous public venues including the Butler Institute of American Art (OH), the New Britain Museum of American Art (CT), the Noyes Museum of Art (NJ), Canton Museum of Art (OH), National Arts Club (NYC), National Academy of Design (NYC) and the Salmagundi Club (NYC). His work is represented in the permanent collections of the Butler Institute of American Art, the New Britain Museum of American Art, Harvard University (MA) and the New Haven Paint and Clay 100+ year collection (CT).

Many in depth articles about Seltzer's work and technique have appeared in American Artist Magazine, the Artist's Magazine, Pastel Journal and Connecticut Magazine. His paintings have been included in several fine art books including Strokes of Genius 9, The Best of Pastel 1 and 2, The Best of Sketching and Drawing, Pure Color: The Best of Pastel and Pure Color: The Best of Pastel 2. Seltzer has been honored with the designation Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America, Master Circle status with the International Association of Pastel Societies and has received a ‘by invitation only" membership from Allied Artists of America.

Among his 100+ awards, he has won top awards including "Best in Show" three times at the Pastel Society of America's annual exhibition, four Gold, five Silver Medals, and a Bronze Medal in national and international exhibitions for his work.

He has also been selected by the Pastel Society of America as the 2022 Hall of Fame Honoree.

More paintings in oil and pastel can be seen on his website: PeterSeltzerfineart.com

Where do you find your inspiration?

I never go looking for inspiration. Inspiration finds me. This is not to say that it is a constant. I keep working regardless of whether or not I am “inspired.” That said I do have two rather reliable sources for inspiration.

On a long term basis, I have had a daily meditation practice. I have received many ideas from and about this practice. Because the practice evolves, so does the imagery.

The second source of inspiration is the work itself. Whatever painting I am working on speaks to me. When I walk into my studio I do not go immediately to the easel and begin work. Instead, I take time to look and listen. The painting tells me what it needs.

Who are your most important artistic influences?

Caravaggio and English portrait painter Thomas Lawrence.

What motivates you to create?

I’ve always been a visual person. Even as a kid. The beauty of the conversation between light and mass motivates me to capture these qualities on canvas or paper.

Additionally, ideas motivate me. A good portion of my paintings are symbolic in content. I love to try to capture the essence of an idea through the visual. Working in a realistic style the challenge is to not have my viewers captured solely by the physical qualities of recognizable objects. This is why I often work with symbolism. It creates a certain amount of ambiguity which invites the viewer to go deeper. Beyond the surface where association with the objects might otherwise trap them.

If it has, how has your style changed over time?

If content can be considered style, it has changed dramatically over time. In my earlier years as an artist my subject matter was much more commonplace. Over time I began to gain the ability to mold abstract ideas into a visual expression and language. This became what so many artists search for, a personal voice in painting that is truly mine.

How do you further develop your art skills?

The physical skills necessary to apply painting mediums to a surface evolve through consistent work and time at the easel. However, to me “art skills” go beyond the physical control of materials to encompass conceptualization and composition.

There came a point in my development when a completely unanticipated new skill set began to be realized. I had spent so much easel time working from life that I began to be able to see in my mind’s eye how things, that weren’t physically in front of me, would appear in the same light as the elements I was painting from life. Having to no longer rely on having my subjects physically present untethered my creativity. I was limited only by my ability to imagine. Also, it was just fun to create compositions in which the imagined could believably occupy the same space as the elements painted from life.

Your portraits show the essence of the person. How do you achieve this?

The answer here is simple. Paint your subject from life. Over the time spent painting someone live and in person you are exposed to their personality, body language, range of facial expression attitudes, energy and more. All this awareness is absorbed and finds its way into the portrait. This wealth of information about your sitter simply cannot be captured in unanimated photo references.

How does the playfulness in you still life paintings come about, is it preplanned?

To the degree that any preplanning is done at all it takes place in my imagination and on rare occasions an initial sketch. However, I am NEVER tied or anchored to my original concept. I am always willing and often called upon to make changes during the process of realizing the original idea. This is where listening to my painting, alluded to earlier, comes into play. The painting itself can suggest additions, deletions or new ideas and directions if I am open to hearing about it. For me, the evolution of an image is how the fun, playfulness and magic enters the painting.

How do you choose what medium to use for a piece?

I tend to alternate periods of painting time in oil and pastel. This alone can determine which medium I use. There are also times when a particular idea calls for a particular medium other than the one I happen to working in at the time. What determines this? That’s harder to say. It might be certain color qualities I feel might be better expressed in pastel or certain textural qualities that would be easier to achieve in oil. Or, far more often, it is simply intuitive.

Managing the business of being an artist can be daunting for many. Any tips on handling the marketing and/or financial aspects of being an artist?

In all my years of being an artist I think I have met exactly one person who seemed to have it all together, both the business and creative sides of being and artist, and that person is not me. If painting itself is a long arc of development, this marketing/business side is even longer.

For me, the sale of paintings or commissioned works are unpredictable so I have taught myself to budget and not go crazy spending when sales are up and money is rushing in. This can really smooth out the bumps in the road during dry spells.

I am often behind on the curve when it comes to the job of making people aware of my work. I was late to develop a website, but now publish a semi-regular newsletter that I use to get my work out and develop relationships with collectors, both current and potential. I feel building relationships is the most important tool for encouraging sales. People enjoy supporting an artist they know and whose work they like. I have found that nothing leads to multiple sales to one collector like an established and nurtured relationship.

The days of relying on a gallery to handle all the promotional efforts are gone. It must be a shared effort, both in terms of time and often financially as well. Today, galleries often expect the artist to share in the cost of advertising and shipping. In some cases, even purchasing the wine for the opening. Although I still work with galleries at this point, I would rather make direct to the collector sales whenever possible thereby sidestepping commissions on sales and other costs. All the more reason to build relationships.

How do you capture the essence of an idea visually?

I find verbal or written explanations of an idea too linear. A visual representation of an idea is more holistic. Through symbols and movement, a more dimensional, open access is available to the viewer. To me, this visual platform has more depth and breadth. I also use my titles to give a nod to my intentions at the root of my painting. There is never a guarantee the viewer will grasp my particular idea, but will find instead, in the openness of the image, a meaning or narrative of their own. This is fine with me. If the idea of origin gives birth to alternate ideas or narratives, I consider that to be just as important.

Here, I offer Ascension as an example. I mentioned my long standing meditation practice. The idea for this painting was birthed in that practice. Spirit the essential quality that animates and is at the root of EVERYTHING exists at all levels of creation. Enjoy the journey!

How do you increase your observational skills?

For me this has occurred over time from three practices: work at the easel, my meditation practice and teaching. At the easel there is working from life and time spent dissecting what I am looking at. My meditation practice has been invaluable for strengthening my capacity to focus. When I first started teaching private painting classes thirty years ago I had no idea that it would lead to this, but helping my students to truly understand what they were looking at has exponentially expanded by own observational capacities.