Roland still rolling

“When I paint, I’m in heaven,” Petersen said. “It’s part of my life, like breathing.”

Teaching at UC Davis in the 1950s as their first painter-professor, Petersen hired painter Wayne Thiebaud as a fellow instructor.

Thiebaud’s fame rose in the same era as Petersen during the 1960s, then painted until he broke 100 himself, inventing new ways of seeing and tackling new subjects.

When you view their work side by side you see similar traits in the expressive use of color and the brain-stretching flexibility of shapes in perspective. There’s similarity in the choice of mundane subjects, elevating simple form and hue to extraordinary, though Petersen claims no mutual influence.

Petersen attributes his style to his mentor Hans Hofmann’s “push-pull theory,” utilizing opposing colors and spatial depth to excite the eye, even as they depict ordinary objects and scenes. He said Seurat was another influence.

Saturated primary reds, yellows and blues dominate the show. Paintings range through the brilliantly sunny “Picnic” series to a couple of abstracted landscapes that don’t fit the same template. He calls his style “abstract realism,” a fitting description, created by what Petersen calls “shadow boxing with shapes.” The effect of sunlight on objects he enjoys.

All have saturated color and strong perspective lines. Most have the feel of an African cloth, tapestries of line and hue. If your eyes aren’t blown open, you must be looking at something else entirely.

Petersen’s “Picnic” series was inspired by sunny days at faculty events. Tables, umbrellas, figures in summer attire repeat themes across the decades. Six are varied open air catering scenes of table rows with patterned tablecloths in strong diagonals leading into the distance.

There are some named “Terrace View.” One like a modernist classic view of Florence, another two of a woman on a balcony with that vista.

Two paintings are light and shadow studies in those vibrant colors. The same sort of experiments as Thiebaud, but different subjects and treatments.

A pair of the artworks draw upon the equivalent strong color combinations. “California Rock” and “Two Summer Cloud Shadows,” are pure abstracts, reminiscent of 1920s works by Mondrian, Klee or Matisse.

In “Winter Landscape” and “Jet Trail with Garden” Petersen breaks the mold, swapping bold primary colors for muted neutrals.

In the former, scumbles of beige and brown shades sweep across a farm scene.

The latter has similar colors depicting a foreground of plant forms, a midground of buildings, then a sky with contrails. Here he uses splashes of his strong primaries, but less saturated.

Though described here in reference to other famous artists, Petersen was a pioneer himself, one of a kind.

The show capper for me, “Sunbathers 2026,” compresses 100 years of study into one eye-popping piece with mesmerizing colors, lines and patterns. Bathers, their pool reflections, diners and watchers under umbrellas in the sunlight beside tables — it’s all there. What a birthday party.

“I like the feeling of timelessness in my work,” he said. Clearly, his artwork will stand the test of time. It already has.

Don’t miss his centenary show May 1-31 at The Studio Shop Gallery. Reception May 8.

The Studio Shop Gallery, 244 Primrose Road, Burlingame, (650) 344-1378, studioshopgallery.com.

Heads Up: The first three May weekends, Silicon Valley Open Studios holds a Peninsula-wide event, artists and media too numerous to name; consult their catalog: svos.org/sv-open-studios. May 9-10 Art Bias beefs up its SVOS offering with art demos, live music, an art trolley for kids, and wine for moms attending on Mother’s Day: artbias.org.

Bart Charlow, author, artist and consultant blends over 45 years of painting and photography with narrative storytelling. Explore the intersection of observation and expression through his insights on the local art scene, find his books at bartcharlow.com and his art at bartsart.weebly.com.