Work to be displayed in Wyoming, Minn.

By Brooke Shepherd

A Hastings native will be participating in her first art exhibit, named Through Her Eyes, at the Hallberg Center for the Arts in Wyoming, Minn. The show is available from March 24 through April 16.

The exhibit features Colleen Peterson, a woman who is many things. From a mother to her son Cole, a wife, a former Olympic trained figure skater, and more recently, she has added artist to the list. Her paintings are considered colorist figurative abstract pieces. This type of art deals with figures that appear abstract but share a likeness to reality, while also containing colors that are exaggerated or unexpected.

“I’ve always loved painting,” said Peterson. “With my background in figure skating, we would study art pieces and movements and music. At first, I didn’t know why I was drawn to drawing woman. I guess I just thought I wasn’t too bad at it and kept doing it, learning on my own.”

Peterson’s son is disabled and participated in art therapy. However, when the pandemic hit in 2020, the therapy was no longer available. This led Peterson to begin painting with her son, and it became a passion for her. Peterson had no formal art training and purchased her first painting kit in March of that year. She said her preference is acrylic paint because of the vibrancy and fast drying nature.

“I enjoyed painting at the cabin and my mom would watch me. She was a huge support and helped build my confidence with some of the figurative forms I was creating on canvas,” said Peterson.

Art is a way for Peterson to express her personal hardships, from having abusive skating coaches as a child, losing a brother to an accidental overdose, and dealing with the challenges of raising her son, who has many medical complexities.

“I think as women, when we get married and have children and even a career, we kind of lose ourselves in our family,” said Peterson. “We can still set goals. We can still have a hobby and accomplish those. Having something like my art, for me, is so fulfilling and it helps me be a better mother and a better wife.”

After painting for about six months, Peterson got in touch with an abstract art teacher in St. Cloud. She took a few classes, which helped her with composition and shading. This is also where Peterson discovered the Hallberg Center for the Arts. The gallery was looking for two artists to do an exhibit. After a six-month process and over 120 candidates, Peterson and another woman, Emily Quandahl, were selected to show their work.

“I love a challenge and I love competing to push myself to be the best that I can. It’s interesting that that aspect came out with my art,” said Peterson. “I didn’t want to just do art that nobody saw. I was making things that had meaning behind them.”

The exhibit is sponsored by a non-profit organization called the COLE Foundation (children’s organization of lending equipment). Peterson started the organization, named after her son, as a lending library where children who are disabled can donate equipment they no longer use or have outgrown, and then COLE re-donates it to those in need. According to Peterson, for any artwork she sells, half of the profits will be donated to the foundation.

Photos courtesy of Colleen Peterson