Kenneth Peters

Born just before the outbreak of WWII, I was strongly influenced by the graphic posters for the US war efforts during my early childhood.  At about eight years old, my neighborhood friend showed me his cartoon drawings of Superman.  I was very impressed at his ability and also realized that perhaps I too could draw as he did.  This began my interest in drawing. 

My dad supported my interest by bringing home a small set of Speedball pen nibs and ink.  I was off to a good start.  My elementary teachers built my confidence by asking me to draw posters for various national holidays.

By the time I reached high school I moved to other media.  My dad again furnished me with a set of Winsor & Newton watercolor pans.  I was also a Boy Scout at that time and made paintings of birds on 3 x 5 index card.  Painting something is an excellent way to memorize the details of that thing.  By my junior year I was exploring oil paints which I purchased with money that I earned working at my first part time job in a convenience store for 75 cents an hour.  On Saturdays, from noon until 3 pm, I studied oil painting with a small group of adults at the studio of Alfred J. Tulk, a mural painter in Stamford, CT.

In applying to college I intended to study art.  My parents admonished my choice on the grounds that I would starve afterwards.  So, I selected Architecture which was related as my major but clung to Art and Painting as a minor study.  This turned out to be a good choice for while supporting my family, I had art as a serious hobby.  In 1989 architecture was seriously hindered by the recession.  Being computer literate from using CAD design and drawing for architecture, I took a part-time position as a Computer Instructor in 1990.  This earned sufficient income and gave me a lot more time to really get serious about art. 

My work has been exhibited and sold at Santo gallery in Provincetown, and at the New Canaan Library and the New Canaan Society for the Arts.  In 2007, several of my watercolor graphic designs were commissioned by Sundance Catalog for catalog products.

You can find me in the studio most days and many nights.