Tree Portraits IV: Jardin Botanique de Montpellier Drawing

Peter Root has been making art all his life though until recently, this was a parallel passion to his career as an architect and his work in facilities management at private colleges and universities including the University of Southern California, Stanford University and Amherst College. Born in Florida and raised in southern California with periods in Paris, France, he now lives with his wife and dogs in Vermont. His interest in painting and making art and his background in architecture come together in his sculpture paintings. These sculpture paintings are layered, not unlike an architect’s topographic map is layered- discrete segments roughly corresponding to their relative elevation or relief are cut out of plywood, assembled with a variety of structural elements and then the whole is painted. The current body of work is mainly (life size and larger) portraits however he doesn’t see himself strictly as a portraitist. “People are endlessly fascinating to me although for my art, I’m not trying to represent a specific individual so much as depict a gesture or expression to convey both a sense of a real person as well as a casual emotion that many people might connect with in themselves.” On the face of it (no pun intended) this work may not conjure up a connection to cubism but in fact Peter is really attracted to the problem of time and point of view in a static image. “There is no single viewpoint in which the viewer is able to take in the whole work. As one moves around, the impression received is constantly changing.” The canvas paintings are obviously more conventional portraits but in a sense, and with all due respect to the models for whom he has enormous appreciation and respect, Peter sees these works as faster and more spontaneous studies in light, form, scale and color which ultimately feeds back into the sculpture paintings. For more information, to see additional works or place an order for a limited edition, signed reproduction, please visit: