106 PUNCHMAGAZINE.COM {home & design} ART IST color concerto words by SHERYL NONNENBERG Roland Petersen celebrated his 100th birthday on March 31 doing what he does almost every day: painting at his home studio in Pacifica. While Monet was inspired by waterlilies and Degas loved ballet dancers, Roland found inspiration in a beloved school tradition. Picnic Day, an annual spring event at UC Davis where Roland taught for 35 years, began in 1909. It was a chance for this university, well-regarded as an agricultural college, to invite the local community to peek into its PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF: STUDIO SHOP GALLERY - ROLAND PETERSEN new barn and see its dairy operations. Over time, it became a large-scale event with food, art and craft booths, entertainment—and a little imbibing of libations. Roland, a major player in the mid-20th-century Bay Area Figurative Movement, was born in Endelave, Denmark and emigrated with his family to San Francisco when he was a small child. Following military service in both the United States Army and Navy, he earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in art at UC Berkeley. The next several years were spent traveling to Europe and the East ABOVE: (from top) Picnic with Red Palm Tree; Roland at his studio with Stephanie Martin, director of Burlingame’s Studio Shop Gallery.
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