Peter Graham is one of Britain's foremost Modern Colourists and a member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. His work is often related to the modern Scottish school of painters, but Peter has a flamboyant style which is unique - detailed brushwork combined with looser fluid strokes creating vibrant contrasts of pure colour, line, and tone. Peter Graham has maintained a lifelong preoccupation with light and intense colour gaining in the process a national and international reputation for his highly distinctive style.
Whenever possible Peter works 'en plein air', directly from life, be it the harbours and cafes of France, coastal scenes around the Scottish isles, or the grandeur of New York and London dining rooms.
"Often because of my approach I can attract onlookers, which can be quite revealing as you can see what kind of reaction you are getting to your painting - a sort of instant criticism. Generally, people are very polite and understand that the painting is in progress and still developing".
Peter lives and works in Glasgow, dividing his time between painting in his 'Greek' Thomson studio and travelling the world with his unique palette.
Peter prefers to work en plein air whenever possible and does not use photography in his painting process. He believes this is how to get at the heart of the subject.
Born Glasgow 1959
Studied at Glasgow School of Art, 1976-1980
Studied filmmaking in London, 1980-1982
Worked at BBC, London, as Film Editor, 1982-1987
Received the British Council Award as first UK Painter in Residence at the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts, Singapore, 1990
Served as Advisor for Visual Arts, Scottish Arts Council, 1994-1996
Member of Council, Cambridge Drawing Society, 1996
Elected member of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, 2001
Served as Vice President of the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, 2004-2005
Elected member of Paisley Art Institute, 2010
Elected member of the Royal Scottish Society of Painters in Watercolours, 2023
