As a boy, I had my Grandfather’s watercolors hanging in my room, and later added Turner's and Monet's paintings. I was drawn to the softness and approachability of them; be they dramatic or still, they are all pretty and comfortable. Today, I find myself trying to emulate either the dark and vibrant or the light and colorful in my own way.
Upon hearing that I paint, many comment about how relaxing and soothing an activity it must be. I have not found it so. Art is demanding of me, and once a painting is started upon, it requires one’s dedication for reaching an acceptable finish. It asks one to be fearless and confident but patient, to be organized but creative, all at the same time. Each painting tests you and draws out your emotions.
Peter grew up in an old farmhouse in Strafford, Pennsylvania as one of five boisterous brothers. Loving science fiction, history, and science, he graduated from Penn State University in 1977 and went to work as a geologist. Work took him and his family to many exotic places including Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Angola, Republic of Congo, and Brazil, with some time back in the US in Texas, Florida and California.
Painting became an important creative outlet while he was overseas, where his efforts focused on capturing the colors and moods of the beautiful and remote landscapes where he worked. Both the darker, richer colors of the interiors of continents as well as the clear bright colors of the tropics continue to inspire his art.
Peter has had gallery showings in Caracas, Venezuela and Cleveland, Ohio, and now paints based out of his San Diego home.
Please visit the studio and site of Peter’s brother, Rob Hartshorn
Rob Hartshorn is a master portrait artist and an award winning painter of luminous figures. Rob is a fourth generation artist and teacher and is nationally recognized for his commissioned portraits of prominent men, women, children and families in oil and pastel.