Peter's blog

  English Version - *version française dessous* THE MUSICAL ESSENTIAL There is one thing that is absolutely essential when I paint… music.  Music lifts me up and inspires me to paint.   When I moved to my new studio in 2020, I had to be careful about my music’s volume.  If it was too loud it interfered with the gallery’s own sound system.   So, we reached a happy compromise…  I turned down the volume on the system in my studio which plays all the time and bought a high end set of headphones connected to my iPhone whereby I can play my music as loud as I want. Music makes me happy, and I love ALL types of music.  Over the years I have created many different playlists, and they often determine what I paint.  Sometimes, you can see the music in my paintings, and I ask visitors if they can see what I was hearing.   Lately, I have been naming some of my art after the songs or albums which influenced the finished painting, and ...

  English Version - *version française dessous*   PICKUP A BRUSH AND PAINT! Over the years, I have met many people who visited the gallery or my studio who expressed a wish they could paint.  I always tell them my story... I only started painting at 38.  I had no real artistic inclinations and started painting to relieve the stress in my professional and personal life.  I also tell them about many others who took up painting later in life.  Probably one of the most famous being Grandma Moses who only took up painting at the “young” age of 78! ( https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Moses ), Recently, I came across a fascinating article published in “ Frontiers For Public Health” which stated arts and crafts can boost happiness levels more than having a good job.  It didn’t matter who you were, what you did… painting, crafting, knitting, whatever… the mere act of creating something was great for your happiness levels. I ...

  English Version - *version française dessous* MY THIRD RULE OF PAINTING…  LET YOURSELF GO! My Christmas gift in 1988 was a small oil painting kit.  I had never painted before and the paint set came with the primary colours, brushes, a couple of small canvas board panels and an instruction booklet that featured several motifs that would be suitable to paint for a beginner like me.   The booklet detailed on a step-by-step basis how to complete your painting. I remember thinking of the time, this is just like paint by numbers, except there are no numbers! In my early painting years, I used to try and copy Monet, Degas, Modigliani and other masters.  Later, I did variations of their works and then started to paint motifs of the people, places and things that I loved.  About fifteen years ago I started to develop my own styles of painting.  As time went on, I began to think less and less as I painted.  I relied on my feelings and emotions. ...

    English Version - *version française dessous* MY SECOND RULE OF PAINTING… THERE ARE NO MISTAKES! Albert Einstein and Bob Ross are both partially responsible for my second rule on painting.   Einstein said, “a person who never made a mistake never tried anything new” and Bob Ross often used the expression “happy accidents” while painting on his TV show. My second rule of painting is “there are no mistakes”!  Every time I do a painting and something doesn’t work out as planned, I look at that as an opportunity to learn and do something new.  Something unique.    It is very liberating knowing every painting I do gives me an opportunity to learn and grow as an artist.  It is also a valuable lesson that I try to apply to my daily life. Albert Einstein quote which is displayed on Peter’s Inspiration Wall in His Studio Version française   MA DEUXIÈME RÈGLE EN PEINTURE… IL N’Y A PAS D’ERREURS ! Albert Einstein et Bob Ross son...

   English Version - *version française dessous* MY FIRST RULE OF PAINTING… THERE ARE NO RULES ! I was not a very good student.   I barely got out of high school.  It was only later in life that I realized, I loved to learn, I just hated to be taught.  Mark Twain, one of my favourite authors, had a great quote which resonated with me…. “don’t let schooling interfere with your education”.  This quote hangs on a plaque on my studio inspiration wall.   I’m often asked whether I give lessons on painting. My answers always the same… “no, I will paint with you, but I will not teach you”.  The reason is quite simple, I’ve never taken art lessons or been formally schooled.  I am self taught and as a consequence, would not be comfortable definitively saying this is the way to do something.   I remember a group of young girls visiting the Gallery one day. One of them was crying and I asked her if she was okay. She said she was an art st...

   English Version - *version française dessous* THE ONLY CONSTANT IN MY LIFE IS CHANGE I have no problem showing anyone my studio.  If I’m asked how I do something, I’ll always explain my methods.  This includes other artists.    Sometimes I’m asked if I’m worried other artists will copy me to which I inevitably answer “no”.  The reason is simple… the only “constant” in my life, my business career and in my artistic endeavours has been “change”.     If someone wants to copy what I do so be it… because what I do tomorrow will be different than what I’m doing today.  I love learning and innovation.  I would get very bored doing the same thing over and over.  So I’m always trying new things and new techniques.   For the last thirty years there has been a plaque on my desk with a quotation by George Bernard Shaw…                 ...

  English Version - *version française dessous* WORKING IN A FACTORY I would never paint the way I do if I had not worked in my parents’ jewellery factory.  When I got out of high school, I went into my family’s jewellery business as did Cam Ferguson and eventually all my siblings.   My parents insisted that we work in the factory and learn every job from the ground up. They encouraged us to innovate and not be afraid to get our hands dirty. This included sweeping the factory floor and working on every machine.  We worked for people who cared about what they did and what they made.  They taught us lessons that we carried through our lives and gave us a solid base in understanding how things were made.   It also taught us that every tool and machine had its proper place in the factory.  I have carried this over into my studio.  Although I’m a very messy painter, at the end of the day I always put everything way.  Visitors often remar...