Wildlife Portraits

My inspiration comes from my encounters with wildlife and nature through my adventures. As I travel, I explore and experience how society reacts and connects with the ever-changing planet. I also learn how nature is understood and appreciated through different cultural lenses. With my chosen subjects, I invite the viewer to spend a little more time with something they may have overlooked or not noticed before.

My current wildlife work blends my abstract approach with a colorful twist of realism to reveal my subject. Whether my work is celebrating rare to see creatures like a Greater Shearwater or a common backyard friend like a gray squirrel, my intention is to show the joy these creatures give. Particularly in colors that I feel from my encounter, rather than just the colors we see.

In all of my work, whether I’m using pastel or acrylic, or a combination of many media, I am telling a story that I hope awakens the imagination and creativity inside the viewer. My work engages the audience on many levels and encourages the viewer to look inward and find something within themselves—inspiration, conversation, a memory, or even a smile. Encouraged by the natural world around me, my art is bold, colorful, fearless but approachable and aesthetically pleasing. And I hope it encourages you to fall in love with nature.—Stephanie Peters