BIOGRAPHY
 

Peter Smith was born in Nottinghamshire in 1967 and had an early passion for painting and drawing that was fostered by his school, which he represented in several art competitions. A tireless perfectionist his early careers included architect, programmer and one job which played a significant role in his development, a designer and illustrator in the fashion industry working with creative luminaries Disney, Fox, Universal, Lucasfilms and the BBC.

Peters' artistic success came unexpectedly, in 2005. An avid follower of contemporary art he approached Washington Green Fine Art, the country's leading fine art publisher, after self publishing for several years not expecting anything other than constructive criticism in return. A deal was signed several days later and Peter left his job of sixteen years to follow his dream of bringing his work to a wider audience.

Working in the fashion industry had given Peter a great understanding of form and colour when fused with contemporary living imagery provided powerful visual art to suit all tastes. Created using oils Peters work is painted over a four week period to produce canvas versions of his numerous illustrations and sketches. The size and composition of the originals give depth, clarity and a look that's difficult to pigeonhole but very accessible.

The 'Art of Surprise' was Peters first collection with his fine art publisher Washington Green and a steady increase in his popularity coupled with a flow of stunning new releases has contributed towards his growing success in 2005. After winning 'Castle Galleries Artist of the Year 2005', Peter Completed his first national tour in 2006 with his critically acclaimed 'Tails of the Unexpected' exhibition and followed it up in 2007 with his most ambitious and personal work to date - 'Far Beyond Driven' which has recently earned him a place in the Fine Art Trade Guild 'Best Up and Coming UK Artist 2007'. Peters 2008 tour entitled '*May Contain Nuts' proved so popular with collectors and galleries that it was extended well into 2009 with galleries packed beyond capacity during his personal appearances.

Early in 2010 Peter was invited to take part in the Elephant Parade London, the biggest art event of it's kind. Elephant Parade London celebrated the beauty of the magnificent Asian elephant. With 260 painted elephants festooning the parks, squares and streets central London, it was the biggest and most beautiful outdoor art event the city has ever seen. The elephants were on the streets of London from May to June, attracting an estimated audience of 25 million, and benefiting 17 conservation charities in the UK. The Elephant Parade Auctions raised over 4 million pounds with Peters 'Impossiphant' selling for 13 thousand pounds and miniature sculptures contributing another 30,000 more. Working with royalty, artists Jack Vettriano, Sacha Jafri, Peter Beard, icons of fashion Lulu Guiness, John Rocha, Paul Smith and many more made for an unforgettable start to the year.

Although best know for his Impossimals Peter also paints a more darker side to life. These images deal with a surreal look at the more moving and emotional sides of existence, an example can be seen at the top of this page with a thorn surrounded Impossimal taken from the 'Loss Of Innocence' painting. Peter occasionally lets these become available but they remain one of the rarest painting styles to leave the studio.

Forever a master of re-invention in 2010 Peter will expand his stories and paintings with a new weird and wonderful 'Boutique' style of Impossimal, the missing 'Lost Impossimals' and a brand new tour starting in September titled 'It's a Stripe Thing.' further showcasing Peter as one of the UK's most exciting living artists. After five years and five tours Peter's work has become highly collectable in many countries and can be found in the USA, Japan, Spain, Denmark and many other places throughout the world including a growing fan base on the east coast of America particularly New York and Disneyworld Florida.

Currently working on his new collection and developing his techniques Peter works tirelessly to bring his Impossimals to the canvas and tell his stories through the work. You can follow Peter on Twitter, Facebook and through his personal diary updated everyday on the 'Painting The Impossimal' Blog.

Washington Green is the country's leading fine art publisher and represents some of the most collectable names in the contemporary art world. Artists which include Mackenzie Thorpe, Bob Dylan, John Myatt, Paul Horton and Alexander Millar to name but a few.

You can source Peter's work from many galleries throughout the UK and Peter's work can be found in many forms - originals, limited edition prints, sculptures, cufflinks and cards, All purchases can be made through Washington Green's dedicated and partnership galleries, for a full listing please visit their website by clicking here.