J. Scott Peck

Biography: Scott Peck was born in Colorado and was raised in a small rural mountain area. He lived in a small house with 5 younger siblings, his parents and tons of pets until he was almost 13. He left engineering school to pursue a woodworking career in his early twenties. In his early forties, after a very successful career in woodworking, he realized he wanted something more out of life, so he left the business and started the next part of his life as a photographer.

I first saw his work at the Bronze Coast Gallery in Cannon Beach, Oregon. You can also find Scott’s artwork in various galleries in CO, UT, AZ, SC, FL, OR and CA. He is most commonly known for his photography of flowers, but he is a master of mixed arts. He can work with clay, wood, underwater flower photos, metal, etc. All of his pictures tell some sort of story.

Inspirations: Macduff Everton – Ansel Adams style photos Kim Keever – large-scale photos of topographies in water. Brian Oglesbee – Water and Foliage photos Regan Rosburg – Mixed Media More at: ks.html ks.html

I’ve gotten the honor to meet Scott Peck in person while I was visiting the Bronze Coast Gallery in Cannon Beach. He is a very kind and humble person and a real joy to talk with. He is my dad’s inspiration for his underwater flower photography and he’s really helped out and given great advice on how to get great photos. He created his own camera that I believe he calls “Frankenstein.” He uses it to shoot pictures of his flowers and such.

Realization Of Freedom This is by far my favorite picture he has done. Firstly, he used a picture taken from the Hubble telescope and used it as the background to his picture. He used a small ladder (dollhouse sized), a chain and a jewelry box on top of a stone like surface. He put lights behind the picture to get the right effect. This picture is one of his newer ones, straying away from the usual flower pictures. I love how your eyes follow from the background to the ladder and then all the way down the chain to the treasure box. It really tells an inspirational story.

Realization of Freedom The ladder coming out of the hole in the background represents struggle – when you feel like you’re stuck and can’t find your way through life. So you work up the courage to climb out of the hole and things are looking up, but you’ve still got a long journey ahead. You’re searching and searching and you finally break free of the chains of your past and gain the biggest treasure in life. The reason the box is turned away from the viewer is because for each person the treasure is different. For Scott, his treasure may have been photography.

Realization of Freedom I learned the back story of this photo from a woman working at a gallery where Scott’s work is shown. Later, I was telling my parents the same story and didn’t realize Scott was listening in on my explanation. He was very excited to see that his work inspired not only my father, but myself as well. I got to talk to him for a good half hour. Unfortunately, I could not get proof of this.

Scott Peck Card- $5.00 What caught my eye about this picture is the way the light hit the background and the flower. What Mr. Peck uses to make the background is his own home brewed beer and different salts. They form some pretty awesome crystals that look great photographed. Another thing I like is the contrast of dark gray colors surrounding a bright yellow daffodil. Wonderful.

Dahlia- $1,980 I love this picture because it looks like an oil painting but I’m pretty sure it’s looking through ice. This makes for some awesome texture. The flower is lit so beautifully and the pink-blue color contrast is just beautiful.

Mrs. S Dragon- $1,980 I really enjoy This picture of snap dragons. It is exposed wonderfully and the gentle lighting really brings out the vibrant colors of the flowers. I don’t know if there is any specific story to this one or if he just wanted to share the beauty of the snap dragons with the public, but either way, I think it is a wonderful piece.

White Calla - $1,980 This is a white calla with a dark purple background. It looks like Scott played around with the lighting and I like how it turned out. Looks like the light is coming from the top left of the picture, showing some dramatic shadows and depth. The contrast from the background to the flower is really pretty. The texture of the flower makes it even more interesting. This is a truly beautiful picture.

My Favorite Swing- $3,400 This picture was created using mixed media. The background is another picture from the Hubble telescope with lights behind it. He got a big piece of driftwood and placed it coming from the lower left of the picture and branching out into the middle. He created a swing out of wood that was about the size of my pinkie finger and hung it over the driftwood. It’s very clever placement. The story behind this one is that in this hectic world, we all have a place that we feel at home and feel peaceful. This swing represents his happy place.

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