Water runs deep in painter’s landscapes and abstracts

HOW TO GO

What: "2 Worlds: The Nostalgic and Abstract Watercolors of Peter Frederick"

Where: Epiphany Gallery, South Park United Methodist Church, 140 Stonemill Road, Dayton

When: Continues through June 30

More info: (937) 224-1731 or http://peterfrederick.fineartstudioonline.com

Watercolor painter Peter Frederick is showing a total of 14 landscapes, two of musical instruments, and five abstracts at South Park United Methodist Church in Dayton.

Guitar afficianados would appreciate his two paintings of a Taylor T5 and a Cherry Strat (Stratocaster). He dubs his contemporary works “Abstract Contours” that feature concentric circles and snakelike curves.

My favorite landscape is the “Untended Perennial Garden,” a display of yearly blooms that decorate the side of a white cottage and an adjacent farmhouse. Another untitled work stars a colorful quilt painted on the side of a barn in Ohio.

“The (quilt) made me smile,” Frederick says. “The warm colors were just what I need on that cold bleak day.”

“View from Dry Run Road” showcases a large Sycamore tree at Carriage Hill Park at the onset of fall; its leaves speckling the ground with intermittent shade. Frederick makes great use of deeper color on focal points in this composition. “Lost (Fate of the Ash)” is one of his works that was not done for its inherent beauty. The cut trunks lean over the dry grass in a last gasp descent to earth, torn hunks of bark hanging open like an astonished mouth.

“In my former life I was a landscape designer … who used a lot of ash. They are a strong, beautifully shaped native tree. The cultivars are beautiful as well, and offer a great variety of color in the fall,” recalls Frederick, who continues to work part-time in landscape sales. “That’s why the Emerald Ash Borer is such a sad epidemic. This painting is my expression is regret for the loss of a stately and once prolific native tree.”

Frederick is a signature member of the Ohio Watercolor society, the Western Ohio Watercolor Society, and the Philadelphia Water Color Society. In addition to his website, his works can be seen at Alley Fine Art and Framing in Miamisburg, The Fine Art Center at Town & Country in Kettering and at pennylanepublishing.com. He lives in Dayton with his wife, Amy, and four children.