The Walk 1960

Roland Petersen made this oil painting, titled *The Walk,* with luscious blocks of colour that feel both representational and abstract. The way Petersen moves paint around the canvas, it's like he's thinking out loud! The surface has real texture – you can almost feel the strokes, the way the paint clumps and spreads. Look at the blues in the upper center of the piece, thick and opaque, they sit right next to washes of yellow, and it seems like the whole image is shifting like sand. Each colour, each stroke, feels deliberate, yet together, they create this beautiful sense of immediacy. For me, Petersen’s painting is a little like Diebenkorn’s work – that same laid-back California vibe, a love of colour and light, but with a freedom that feels so personal. Art is a conversation, and Petersen adds his own voice, full of joy and a touch of wildness, to that ongoing dialogue.