Interview
Peter Nicholas Van Giesen
Peter Van Giesen has always known that creativity and inspiration are a part of his life force. He discovered his artistic and business talents early in elementary school. After finishing high school in Ontario, he completed a College degree in Religion and a University degree in Psychology. In 2011, he renewed his commitment to his visual art and sharing that particular gift with others. Art is a mystical process, a spiritual work, and an exercise of creativity for him. When he paints, the veil of the common life is momentarily lifted allowing him to be embraced by the underlying essence of the universe. He is drawn to the mystery that is implicit in the natural world. He feels more spiritually alive when outside. His art is the result of sporadic surges of energy that percolate past his consciousness. His style hovers between representation, impressionism with a dash of abstract. He attempts to reach into the fabric of the world exploring the dynamics of tension and elasticity. Using paint, he creates images based on the interplay between darkness and light, the interconnected aura of the natural world.
He has received a number of international awards of recognition and is honored to have artwork accepted into the permanent collection at Government House of British Columbia as well as The Union Club of British Columbia. After using oil based paint for many years, he switched to acrylic paint in 1993 and currently it is the sole medium he uses. He operates Central Art Studio & Gallery downtown Victoria, since 2017, where he sells his own artworks and artwork from other Vancouver Island Artists.
What is your background and how did you start your journey in the art world?
“Above and beyond all else, I’m an artist. I have always known that creativity and inspiration are part of my life force. I discovered my artistic and business talents early in elementary school as I sold some of my first works of art at around age of 9 year old. Based on demand I was selling simple drawings at school recess for snack money (yes I did get in trouble for it). After finishing high school in Ontario, Canada, I completed a College degree in Religion and a University degree in Psychology. I was encouraged by my family to work in the church. I tried it for a few years but naturally gravitated away from the church into the business and charitable sectors. For most of my working life I have been a business owner or senior executive in business and non-profit sectors. My art business was my first and has proved to be my most enduring enterprise. At every phase of my life I took time to exercise my creativity. When I had a studio space, my creative expression flourished and when I had no such space my creativity was channeled into my other endeavors.”
What inspires you as an artist?
“I note that I am inspired deep down in my heart of hearts. So I don't seek inspiration, rather operate from a spirit of wholesome gratitude for the life force that I have been given. I seek to create visual art based on memories of places I have experienced and sensations I feel. I share those memories as part of my life story.”
What themes do you pursue? Is there an underlying message in your work?
“As an artist, it is who I am and it a matter of lifestyle. I guess one could note that my life is one big evolving project. My overriding theme is, ‘the interconnected energy of the natural world.’ I call what I do, ‘capturing the eternal aura of nature.’ My creativity is the result of sporadic surges of energy that percolate past my consciousness. My creativity is something continuously present so even when not physically creating, I am processing my artistry internally. Creativity oozes from my very sense of being alive.”
How would you describe your work?
“My style hovers between representation, impressionism with a dash of abstract. I attempt to reach into the fabric of the world exploring the dynamics of tension and elasticity. Using paint, I create images based on the interplay between darkness and light, the interconnected aura of the natural world. I classify myself as an “Intuitive Artist. I do not have to try and paint as it is natural gift, so what you see is a creation from my inner world. I am influenced by the natural world, so many artworks represent Vancouver Island and the surrounding oceanic environment.”
Which artist are you most influenced by?
“The most influential artist for me would be Leonardo da Vinci, who had a diverse creative mind. More recent artistic influences include Claude Monet and French Impressionism with its loose brush strokes, using bright colors to provide definition, real everyday themes, its depiction of light, and open compositions. TO this day, I love art that truly represents the heart and soul of each artist that creates it. Each artist is a district creation themselves so I am attracted to that uniqueness. So, when I reviewed my personal collection of art hanging in my home, it is very diverse from abstract to representational stylistically.”
“I consider my artistic expression a gift to be shared.”
Take us through your creative process. What’s it like?
“I classify myself as an Intuitive Artist. I do not have to try and paint as it is natural gift. All creativity starts in my heart so all art that I make is painted inside my mind based on memories of time and place. While in the past I created art exclusively from memory, I now include photos for reference although never recreate the image of the photo. I tend to have a dozen or more artworks in my mind and over time the order seems to get sorted and I paint using acrylic paint following that order of priority. I meditate daily and that helps me sort through my memories. There is no timelines related to what artwork memory gets priority so sometimes a memory of 30 years ago gets presented in my art before a memory created last month. Once I start painting, the process is very rapid. I start right into painting with no underlying sketch or outline. It is rarely more than a few days before I finish up the artwork by signing my initials to make a statement that I am abandoning that artwork to start on the next.”
What is an artist’s role in society and how do you see that evolving?
“Practicing creativity and artistry makes sense of all that exists in our world. It communicates the connectedness of all our senses giving us occasion for expression of all emotion. Art interprets the world for us to grasp the necessary and the important. The artist drives society to be a better version of itself. Certainly the forms and mediums of communicating art will change but creativity is a constant force.”
Have you had any noteworthy exhibitions you'd like to share?
“I found the constant round of seeking exhibitions quite exhausting so I prefer to offer the public an ongoing gallery of my work so have a large studio gallery in a local shopping mall where I create art in public as well as sell my work year-round. I focus on creating an experience as not everyone can buy art, but they can come in from the hectic outside world. I can provide a calm ambience with makes the visitor feel happy. Certainly, enough art is sold to provide me a comfortable living. A memorable response, “Viewing Peter N. Van Giesen’s life-affirming paintings is a transcendent experience. His art immediately calms our nerves, slows our breathing, and beckons us to follow the path to quiet contemplation. His exquisite scenic vistas, that reach toward what appears to be infinity, serve as metaphors for the mysterious unknown and the realm of unlimited possibilities.’”
