Boldly Going

Peter Colbert is a Canadian artist based in Ottawa. He was born in Vancouver but grew up in Toronto, where he completed his graphic design education at Humber College and attended the Ontario College of Art and Design on a scholarship. He is known internationally for his figurative and abstract paintings.

Peter came to appreciate the importance of ideas, creativity and originality while working in graphic design and advertising. He transitioned to being a full-time fine artist in 2005 and was encouraged when he almost sold out at one of his first exhibitions, the 2007 Toronto Art Expo.

“Composition and colour are the most important components of my paintings, and I’m constantly weighing their relationships with the other elements… I’m looking for that certain feeling, the thing that moves me, in my paintings.

I enjoy using palette knives, brushes, and rollers as my tools. Some of my key influences are Diebenkorn, Manet, Homer and Rothko.”