Peter Rossiter

Peter Rossiter was born in 1950 in Cambridge. He studied English Literature at York University (BA) from 1969-72, and from 1973 to 1974 did his MA in Art History at the Courtauld Institute London . He is the grandson of Martin Bloch and has lived in Wales since 1991. He has his studio in Boncath/Pembs and is a member of the Newport Collective & Art Matters, Tenby Pembrokeshire.

Having grown up with an internationally renowned painter as a grandfather, Peter Rossiter has always been interested in fine art, even though he started out by studying English Literature and afterwards Art History, specialising on Hogarth & Hironymus Bosch. During his university days he did some graphic work and while running a wholefood cafe in the heart of London's Westminster in later years he still managed a few small exhibitions.

At the age of 47, however, while working through the legacy of his grandfather, Martin Bloch, he finally took the step to make painting his first priority. Laura May, writing about Peter Rossiter in the York University Magazine, thinks that far from setting him back his late start has actually had the effect of enriching his work.

Rossiter's work is frequently characterised by the use of colour for its expressionistic qualities, particularly to express a feeling of exitement when inspired by a subject. He is interested in the history of a landscape and how it carries meaning. He draws directly from nature and then reconstructs the data in the studio.

Although he works from memory he attempts, at the same time, to keep alive the original moment of inspiration. He is particularly interested in the images we carry in our mind's eye, which are coloured by our feelings as opposed to those that can be copied 'realistically' like a camera.