AZURE KINGFISHER

The artwork displays a detailed depiction of an Azure kingfisher, created using a combination of watercolour and ink. The overall style leans towards a hybrid of traditional East Asian painting techniques and contemporary realism. The artist meticulously captures the bird's plumage, showcasing a range of blues, golds, and browns. The technique employed appears to blend the delicate washes of traditional East Asian ink painting with the precision of a detailed illustration. The kingfisher's features, like its beak and eyes, are rendered with fine, precise lines and shading. The branch on which the bird perches is depicted with a soft, almost calligraphic touch, suggesting the use of ink wash to create texture and depth. The composition focuses on the bird, placing it in a way that draws attention to its form and colouration. Subtle variations in colour saturation and tone are used to model the bird's three-dimensional form. The soft, almost hazy background enhances the subject matter. The medium is a combination of watercolour and ink. The artist uses a colour palette primarily consisting of shades of blue, orange, brown, and white, which emphasises the richness of the bird's feathers and the subtle variations in tone.

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About Me!

I grew up in the small village of Perthville about 12 miles south of Bathurst, NSW, Australia. The first 11 years of my life were spent on a farm where I developed an affinity with the Australian bush.

I didn't start to seriously paint until high school where I studied art as an elective subject. At the completion of High school I entered the field of computing and have had many technical and managerial roles since that time. Needless to say, art took a back seat to life.

At the age of 45 I met a wonderful woman who I ended up marrying. Debbie-Lee revitalized my interest in drawing and painting, and encouraged me at every turn. She is my muse. I begun with some drawing classes where I developed my interest in charcoal as a medium. I also played with watercolor and acrylics, but it wasn't until I discovered oils, that I really found my comfort zone.

I like to think of myself as a bit of an eclectic artist. My day job gave me the luxury of not having to paint for the wider audience of consumers so I could try different subjects, styles, mediums etc. Depending on my mood at the time I alternated between portraiture, the human figure, still life, Birds & Animals and Australian landscapes. Sprinkled here and there are some frivolous works that I do occasionally just to break the monotony.

I am almost completely self-taught. In 1998, I completed a three-month figure drawing class at the Workshop Arts Center at Willoughby, Sydney, under the tutelage of Ros Deveaux. I also started but didn't finish an acrylics class at the same centre with Sarah Aylward. I also started but did not finish a ten-week introduction to oil painting at the Royal Art Society, North Sydney.

Other than that, I have just experimented with different mediums and techniques. I'm still learning (I will always be learning).

I now live at Forster on the NSW Mid North Coast.

I hope you enjoy what you see.

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Pete

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Exhibitions and Shows!​

2000 - Deerbrook Gallery, Humble TX, USA (solo)

2004 - Art House Gallery, Sydney, Australia (solo)

2012 - Beattie Street Gallery, Balmain, NSW, Australia

2013 - Lentil as Anything, Newtown, Australia (solo)

2017 - Carre De Artiste Gallery, Paris, France

2017 - Almost Naked & Nude, Hallidays Point, Australia

2019 - Gallery 109, Manly, NSW, Australia