Lennie Peterson's paintings are rendered in acrylic, brush, and India ink on what he terms "weathered" canvas, a technique he developed to create a canvas textured by the elements of nature.

The blank canvas is prepared with several layers of paint and then left outdoors to "weather" in his native New England elements of wind, snow, rain, and sun. It is then scoured with seawater, salt, and sand creating the textured surface and effects for the painting to be conceived.

Once the weathered canvas is prepared, Peterson translates the sound of music into shapes on the canvas, a cross-sensory phenomenon known as "Synesthesia" where two or more senses trigger another of the five senses.

He says, "As a musician myself, I am fortunate to have a way to communicate sound in this visual way."

SYNESTHESIA ABSTRACT SERIES

Lennie Peterson's Synesthesia themed abstract paintings are his expression of musical notes, scales, modes, and compositions translated into shape, color, and texture. In his words, "I see the shape of music."

COMPOSER PORTRAITS

Lennie Peterson's Composer Portraits are his way of paying tribute to musical genius; composers who have changed the world and who deserve to be presented larger than life. The portraits serve to bring special attention to featured composers and artists in any cultural setting.

Lennie also creates large indoor/outdoor portrait projections for galleries, museums, music festivals, concerts, public art installations, and corporate sponsored events. The high definition projections can range from 10 feet to several stories high where the architecture becomes an integral part of the portraits' background, texture, and character.

"Each compositional element of my portraits serve a distinct purpose," Lennie says.

"I render half of my subject's face symbolizing my belief that we can only know a part of the make up of such great cultural figures. The color selected for the background of my paintings represents the composer's essence or nature, and the geometric shapes represent musical structure."

Once inside the basic physical form of the painting, viewers can see and take interest in the shapes and forms that make up of the whole of the piece and are a result of Peterson's condition of synesthesia. Repeated visits to the image allow new and interesting details not experienced before. "Much like getting to know a person," Peterson explains.

MINDSCAPES

Peterson's intricate and detailed surrealist and symbolist paintings and drawings (what he terms "Mindscapes") are created in a meditative, subconscious "flow".

He interprets the sound of music into shapes, forms, colors, and images on the canvas through a cross-sensory phenomenon known as "Synesthesia" where two or more senses trigger another of the five senses. This creates the inner workings and details of the Art, hand painted in brush, India ink, and acrylic paint.

Peterson's fascination with expressing the subconscious mind through visual art and music is a result of his lifelong interest in improvisation.