Peter Johannes Bucks was born in the city of Chicago on January 12th 1971. Peter grew up in the neighborhood of "Irving Park" located on the City's North Side. While growing up and at a young age Peter was taught the fundamentals of perspective and proportions by his father who is also an artist.
In the fall of 1990 Peter Bucks was accepted at Ray College of Design in Chicago and studied to become a professional artist under the supervision and teachings of Atelier trained and master painter Bruno Surdo.
In the Spring of 1994 Peter graduated and began a professional freelance career illustrating for various companies and agencies in the Chicagoland area. In 1996 Peter achieved a full time position at Skyline Design where he worked as a muralist and concept artist until 2001.
Currently Peter is living in Chicago and has been working on private commissions, Fine Art, Public Art projects and on various freelance illustrations. Peter also makes a considerable amount of contributions and charitable donations with his art in the Chicagoland area.
Peter considers his art work to be somewhere in between Realism and Impressionism, but representational.
Peter is an associate member of Oil Painters of America, NOAPS, Allied Artists of America, and a member of the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Art, in Chicago.
Artist Statement
Creating an oil painting is like sculpting an illusion of light on a two dimensional surface. I am identifying light that captures the honest feel of nature and how the light affects its form and color. I capture the essence, personality, and nature within it. I work partially from life and then utilize photographs that I take if necessary. The composition begins with piecing together larger shapes and refining them until they have a natural flow and a pleasing feeling to the viewer.
My artistic vision includes capturing the attributes of life and revealing the experience of those moments in portraiture and figurative art, thereby representing the emotions and feelings of a person. With the use of color, texture and lighting I am conveying the interactions of work, play, love or melancholy in a moment of time. I identify these attributes of our spirit in landscapes, still life and portraiture. The people I paint are individuals I may meet by chance, close friends or family members. The landscape and still life depictions are equally important in conveying meaning and emotion in an abstract manner. The finished art work is harmonious to my vision of beauty and craftsmanship.
Life moves extremely fast. My paintings catch a moment in time enabling people to experience my view of the human spirit.
