Peta Orbach

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

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.