Peter Juvonen is an artist with great spirit and this spirit is vigorously displayed in each of his paintings. About his process, he says “Lines, shapes and colors begin to connect; it’s like watching a plant grow.”A Finnish/American and a painter for 35 years, Peter is a multi disciplined artist. Representational art does not elude him, but this conceptual style, which is uniquely Peter, is where his heart is. The palette may change but what is represented is Peter’s “energy”. It may appear random at first glance, but these shapes are very skillfully designed, connected and controlled. “I love the process, the element of surprise that almost always brings joy to my heart. When I paint, I feel totally alive. I don’t hear anything……I’m really in the zone. I feel creating is the most pleasure a human being can get. I never attended art school; my inspiration often comes completely from my imagination. My paintings are visual re-interpretations of both the real and surreal. My style is consistently in flux: My evolution grows faster than my paintings, I prefer the freedom to jump between styles and subject matter although, once begun, I often become obsessed and must do a series of the subject. My art is influenced by reading, travel and my dreams.”Peter’s art is included in most major corporate and private collections in the Pacific Northwest, including Microsoft, Boeing, SAFCO at Tacoma Art Museum, Seattle Arts Commission, Hyatt Hotels, Seattle City Light, Swedish Hospital, and the Washington States Arts Commission.About his Animal Totem series:The inspiration for these paintings stem from strong childhood memories of Juvonen’s father. He began this series of paintings after a dream featuring his father with a bear. The dream left him with a strong determination to put brush to canvas. Juvonen’s best memories of his father are about his great hanstanding ability. When he was feeling particularly happy and light hearted, he would delight his three sons with his amazing skills. He was very good, in fact, he could do a handstand on almost any object, and the picnic table in their yard was a favorite stage - he could jump from one level to another on his hands.The resulting paintings speak to us about balance in life, and balance in our relationships. In the paintings, we can see the precarious balance between work life and play, and the balance between fearlessness and fearfulness. They might provoke us to examine the relationships we have with animals and in Juvonen’s anthropomorphism of the animals, we glimpse their humanity.Like many familial relationships, Juvonen’s relationship with his father was a complicated one, but he remembers these handstanding antics with great joy. He had fun creating them and hopes they will bring some of the same joy to the viewers who see them.