Photo Essay: When The Door Opens

Nick Peterson-Davis’s Journey into his Impressionist art style

At the age of ten, Nick Peterson-Davis began immersing himself into the art work. Living in Maumee, Ohio, where there wasn’t a large art scene, his parents set up private art lessons for him. With these classes he learned the basics of still life, shading, and perspective drawing. As he grew more fascinated by the arts, he decided that in high school he would enroll in their art classes - which mostly focused on tie dye and wood prints. It wasn’t until college that Peterson-Davis decided to focus on a career he believed he could make a better living from. He graduated college with a business degree and began working in the restaurant industry - which then led him to Boston. After some time in Boston, he met a nursing student who mentioned how great his school's program is. As someone who is very open to new opportunities, Peterson-Davis took this conversation as a sign to attend nursing school. At the age of 30, he began his new career as a registered nurse. Enjoying his profession, he decided to get a masters in nursing education and began working at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Throughout all these changes, the one constant in Peterson-Davis’s life was his love for art. 

Nearly 25 years ago, Nick Peterson-Davis began producing realistic art works with his classes at MassArt. “It’s typical of a lot of people when they start painting is they want to do a very realist type style, a traditional style of painting,” he says. Here is a painting from his early realist art.

Photo credit Nick Peterson-Davis.

https://www.nickpetersondavis.com/2020-paintings-1

Nick Peterson-Davis worked with the realist art style for many years while he continued with his nursing career. As a realist painter, he successfully sold many of his art pieces in galleries.

Photo by Eliana Flores-Barber

It wasn’t until five years ago that Nick Peterson-Davis realized his work as a realist painter was not allowing him to express himself the way he wanted to. “I was tired of all this technical way of painting, you know, this realist way when the goal is only reached when it looks exactly like the subject,” he explains. In creating traditional art, he further elaborates, that you often lose track of the subject and it’s importance as one is too focused on creating a perfect image. (Realist painting seen in image one. Here are images of his current works)

Photo by Eliana Flores-Barber

“I wanted to do something that was more reflective of my spirit, more reflective, or more capable of lifting people up and making them feel good. And I felt like the Impressionists were the ones who started doing that more, creating that kind of energy in their work more, where it was more of a heart centered way of painting,” explains Nick Peterson-Davis.

Photo by Eliana Flores-Barber

Breaking away from the realist art style was no easy task. With any form of Impressionist or abstract art, “there’s no real foundation for it other than just go with your heart,” says Nick Peterson-Davis. His way of knowing how his art is being received by audiences is if they felt a connection to it. 

Photo by Eliana Flores-Barber

As Nick Peterson-Davis navigates through his Impressionist art style, his main focus is on his interpretation of gardens. “I do think I have an affinity for beautiful things. I’ve always had flower gardens and I’ve always loved nature,” says Peterson-Davis. The painting he is working on is a collaboration with another artist at SoWa who does more traditional figure works. There will be three paintings in this collection.

Photo by Eliana Flores-Barber

“I think of a garden as a metaphor for you know, when you plant the garden, just the act of doing it is sort of hopeful. Sort of anticipating something wonderful could happen. And it’s part of what I love about my garden is because something wonderful happened,” says Nick Peterson-Davis. The two paintings on the wall are current gardens he is working on.

Photo by Eliana Flores-Barber

Spending much of his childhood in nature and being interested in insects, Nick Peterson-Davis is now translating that fascination into a new series of painting. The art works are through the perspective of bee’s. By focusing on bee’s pixelated vision, a new avenue has been created for Peterson-Davis to work more with abstract art and color schemes.  

Photo by Eliana Flores-Barber

At this point in his life and art career Nick Peterson-Davis says “I’m starting to realize, I really don’t have any regrets if I die tomorrow you know, these are components that I’ve identified in my life, from my dominant relationship I recognize how that creates opportunities or not if you make good choices, to my career choices, to just believing in a goal.”

Photo by Eliana Flores-Barber

For Peterson-Davis his mindset of never turning his back on a new opportunity, led him to find an art style which allows him to best express himself.