Artist Peter Beston Trades Desk For Easel

The first 60 years of Peter Beston’s life revolved largely around desks. He learned to doodle at one before he could write, and he spent 44 years editing film at desks all over the world.

But five years ago, he made the move to an easel on the second floor of his home in East Quogue. His studio is light and airy, due in part to white walls and a massive window overlooking trees and the gravel driveway below. Brushes and paints are neatly organized on a metal cart, and two small canvases sit on easels with base coats of paint.

“I still have two more paintings left to do for the opening, so I’ve been working like a dog,” the British-born Mr. Beston said last Wednesday, with a laugh, of his solo show opening Friday at the Remsenburg Academy, as part of the Art Remsenburg series.

In January, Lisa Mendelson and Sally Pope, co-chairs of the art committee of the Remsenburg Association, first approached the artist about the exhibit, and he obliged. Every day for the next six months, he worked in his studio to create 12 new paintings—most of which depict birds and landscapes—for his 18-painting exhibition, with just a pair left to go. In the process, he fell into a daily routine.

“I wake up and I take a walk through the garden to have a think,” he said. “Then, I have a meal and work in the studio for two to three hours. I have a mid-day meal and maybe a rest, and then I can work from about two or three until nine o’clock at night, really.”

Mr. Beston designed his show, titled “Daylight and Darkness,” as journey from light to dark and back to light again, he said. This is the first time he has attempted to paint dark night scenes, he said. “Having been in film, I really am keen on including a narrative in my work. There’s a certain charge about what has happened and what’s going to happen.

“I try to tell a story through my paintings, and composition guides the viewer,” he continued. “When a person approaches a painting, composition is the script of the painting, like in a book or a film. You need a good handle to hang the idea on because without one, the viewer will walk away.”

Mr. Beston had a late professional start to his career as a painter, but he has always been artistic, having taken weekly art classes as a child and teenager. They paid off when he attended Croydon College of Art in London, where he honed skills and technique that he would not directly use until age 62, when his hobby would become a full-time passion.

Lisa Mendelson said she sees Mr. Beston, now her good friend, as an artist who will elevate the Remsenburg Association to a new level—one that is more competitive with other art galleries on the East End.

“I think each one of his paintings is so compelling and intriguing,” she explained. “The best part about the academy is the light. I think it’s going to be the perfect meeting of space and art, so I think it’s going to be really special.”

“Daylight and Darkness,” featuring work by Peter Beston, will be on view from Friday, July 24, to August 9 at the Remsenburg Academy, as part of the Art Remsenburg series. A reception will be held on Saturday, July 25, from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission is free. Hours are Fridays from 3 to 7 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information, call (631) 325-0750, or visit remsenburgassociation.com.