California Picnic, Variations on I Ching Series 1970

Roland Petersen made this "California Picnic" painting as part of his "Variations on I Ching Series," using bold colour and simplified shapes. The way he approaches the canvas, it’s like he’s building a world, block by block, colour by colour. There's something really engaging about the surface texture here. Petersen’s playful use of colour is really visible in the way the blocks of paint don’t quite meet, or overlap, creating this vibrant, buzzing effect. Notice those picnic tables spread out like a game board, with their tablecloths of bright, contrasting colours. See how he has used flat blocks of colour to create the tables, then interrupted them with bright square insets of red, yellow and green? The eye hops and skips through the painting as if it were a field of wildflowers. It all reminds me of David Hockney's paintings, with his flattened perspectives and vibrant colour palettes. Both artists revel in the joy of pure colour, creating spaces that are both familiar and dreamlike.