* PETER DAVIS,
ORKNEY LANDSCAPE
watercolour on paper, signed and dated 1981
image size 31cm x 49cm, overall size 49cm x 68cm
Mounted, framed and under glass.
Note: Born in the North-East of England in 1953, Peter Davis didn't follow the usual path through art school. He chose instead an Art & Design course at Northumberland College of Education and after that taught in Cumbria. In 1981 he moved to Orkney where he set up a studio and gallery in Birsay and did a number of jobs teaching art to children and adults. During the next 10 years he developed his work and began to exhibit in a variety of venues both in Orkney and around other parts of Britain. In 1991 he moved to Shetland and soon took up an art teaching appointment. Peter Davis has had numerous exhibitions both in this country and abroad and taken part in an artists' exchange with the Netherlands and took courses on printmaking and sculpture. Between 2006 and 2008 he worked with Voluntary Service Overseas as a teacher trainer in West Africa. Upon his return to the UK Peter resumed teaching art part-time and painting. In 2013 he retired from teaching to devote his time to painting. In 2014 and 2016 he received Visual Arts Awards from Shetland Arts/Creative Scotland to develop his interest in handmade paint and work towards an exhibition based on visits to Iceland. 'Elemental' was shown at the Bonhoga Gallery in July - September 2016. Peter was a founder member of Veer North, the Shetland artist's group, and since 1994 has been an occasional arts reviewer and critic for The Shetland Times. Peter Davis has work in the collection of Shetland Islands Council, Shetland Arts, Shetland Amenity Trust, and Smyril Line, Faroe. He is currently represented by a number of Scottish galleries including Kilmorack Gallery in Inverness-shire, the Birch Tree Gallery in Dundas Street, Edinburgh and Gallery Heinzel in Aberdeen.