Vincent Petersen “Centinelas Vespertinas” (Evening Guardians), Acrylic on Canvas

Vincent Petersen’s “Centinelas Vespertinas (Evening Guardians)” (2008) is an original acrylic on canvas depicting a twilight mountain landscape. Bold strokes of violet and indigo capture snow-laden pines, while golden cliffs glow in the distance. Signed lower right, the work exemplifies Petersen’s contemporary impressionist style, balancing vibrant color with meditative stillness. The piece retains its original Hal Marcus Studio & Gallery label, which lists the gallery price at $850. Presented in a beveled ebony frame without glass.

Condition:
Good overall. The canvas is clean and vibrant with no noted issues. The frame has two chipped corners, as shown, but remains solid and displays well.

Size:
Overall: 27 x 33 inches
Visible: 23.5 x 29.5 inches

Artist Biography:
Vincent Petersen, OFM Conv., is a Conventual Franciscan friar and painter celebrated for his luminous acrylic Earthscapes. Raised in rural Minnesota, he studied Studio Art at Saint Louis University and earned his Master of Divinity at the Washington Theological Union before ordination in 1985. His vocation and artistry are deeply entwined, presenting nature as both subject and spiritual revelation. From 1997 to 2015, Petersen lived in the American Southwest, where the desert and mountain landscapes became central to his visual language. His first solo show was held at Hal Marcus Gallery in El Paso in 2006, and his works remain represented there.

Today Petersen is Resident Friar Artist at the Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality in Indiana, where he paints, teaches, and leads retreats. His art is informed by the Franciscan tradition and Pope Francis’s Laudato Si’, highlighting the sacredness and fragility of the natural world. Collectors prize his works for their bold color, spiritual resonance, and unique blending of ecology, faith, and contemporary landscape painting.