“Painting is what I do, it's how I spend my time,” said Peggy Walters, one of the earliest members of the BARE Walls program. Anyone who looks at Walters’ work would definitely believe her.
She was born in Plaquemines Parish and earned her B.A. from Northwestern State University. She then continued her art education, attending programs at Louisiana State University, Corcoran College of Art & Design in Washington D.C., the College of Southern Maryland, St. Mary’s College of Maryland, and Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts. After spending 30 years in Maryland, Walters returned to her home in Louisiana where she now resides.
Now, Walters mostly paints Louisiana landscapes, but they differ strongly from the usual depictions.
“My drawing is naturalistic in that the images are recognizable as trees, grass, birds, water, etc. But my color is arbitrary—I don't paint trees with brown trunks, for example. The color develops spontaneously as I paint,” Walters explained.
The complexity of Walters’ landscapes is closely tied to her intricate artistic process. She usually begins conceptually with small pencil drawings in search of interesting compositions. Walters then transfers those sketches to brown craft or wrapping paper in the form of monochromatic, acrylic gestural drawings.
“If I'm satisfied that I have an interesting composition, I move on to canvas, where I begin as I did on the brown paper, with a free gestural drawing,” added Walters. “From there I begin with oil paint and color, and at that point, I never know what I'm going to do until I do it.”
Walters’ work is popular among BARE Walls member businesses—it has been displayed at CENTRAL Pizza & Bar, Acadian Superette, Gulf States Insurance, and the 3rd Annual Robideaux Report.
Peggy is one of many talented professionals that makes this program possible.
BARE Walls is thankful to have artists like Peggy be a part of the program, and she shares the same sentiments for BARE Walls.
“BARE Walls makes connections with people who might not otherwise see the work of those of us who spend all our time working the studio,” commented Walters. “Until now I thought the one available avenue for showing art was in galleries. Bare Walls has expanded my world, making my work more widely available, and for that I'm deeply grateful.”
Walters feels that many artists have expressed in words how she feels about her work. One of her favorite quotes comes from American poet Mary Oliver.
“Let me keep my mind on what matters, which is my work, which is mostly standing still and learning to be astonished."
Thank you, Peggy.
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