David Peikon
For 29 years, I have endeavored to create paintings that pull the viewer into the space as if they are there alongside me. Capturing nature in all its infinite beauty is a never ending challenge, to depict the terrain and atmosphere and the essence of a place, as a means of inspiring others to get out into nature too.
As a primarily self-taught painter, I learned from studying the masters I revere including John Sargent, William Merritt Chase, Sorolla, Monet, and others. Working alla prima, (without preparatory underdrawing) keeps the work fresh and spontaneous, while also imparting a more interesting paint surface than the academic approach of classical realism.
While best known for the naturalism of my landscapes, I equally enjoy painting the people who pass through my life, whether presented as portraits or figurative pieces. I am honored to include among my portrait sitters: William F. Buckley Jr, geneticist Dr. George Church of Harvard Medical School, Salvatore Ferragamo, David H. Koch, Nobel Laureates Dr. Elizabeth Blackburn, Dr. Tom Cech, Dr. Wally Gilbert, Dr. Carol Greider, and Dr. James D. Watson, and many others.
Most recently my work has been exhibited at the Nassau County Museum, the Heckscher Museum, and the Long Island Museum of Art.
The Long Island Museum of Art recently acquired for the permanent collection “ Caumsett in August”, a 30 x 40 oil on linen.
David Peikon~ Painter