Peta Orbach
Artist Statement
I want my paintings to speak for themselves. I look for a certain power and simplicity in my work, images that work at a gut level which also invite a wry, humorous look at life. I like to challenge bland emotions and poke fun at sacred cows.

The roots of my work are in expressionism; my influences are from everywhere: a childhood in West Africa, French political posters of May 1968, Topolski’s sketchbooks, Munakata’s woodcuts. I also admire Chinese brush painting with its object of capturing a single Zen moment in a few simple brush strokes.

My themes are grounded in everyday life, in my experience of life as a woman. As an artist I like to work within the traditions of art and history, at the same time to play with its icons and stretch its boundaries. My subjects are landscapes and people, animals and flowers, dancers and musicians, a celebration of life.

Art for me is not only about life but a way of adding to it, exploring it. I think with my brush. I think about the marks I make. I want to blow fresh air into established ways of looking at life and constantly to redefine myself and my relationship to the traditions of art.

Bio

I grew up in Africa and England and from the age of six I loved to paint and knew that this was what I wanted to do always.

As a young person, I became involved in the political and social movements of the time. I found that screen printing was a good way to get these ideas across. Later I worked as a commercial screen printer.

I returned to more personal painting and print making with the birth of my children.I moved to Los Angeles in 1991 and have since taken part in numerous exhibitions.