Currently residing in Adelaide, Peter was born in 1947 and spent his first ten years in the country town of Karoonda, South Australia. These early years in the Mallee region have been a major influence on his vision as an artist as his works are vibrant, vigorous and confident interpretations of vast landscape. They reflect the uniqueness of the terrain and freely convey Peter's unrestricted inner thoughts and feelings as well as the excitement and energy used in expressing his perspectives.
He began painting professionally in 1968 after spending 5 years at Marleston Technical College studying Sign writing, Graphic Art and Silk Screen Printing and Design at which he excelled, winning the coveted Sandusky Cup for Silk Screen Printing and Design in 1967 and duxing his class each year 1965 to 1968. He worked as a graphic artist at the same time exhibiting his paintings until constant demand for his work enabled him to pursue his passion full-time.
His first solo exhibition was held in 1978 where he displayed traditional water colour pieces and he has since had a further 36 solo exhibitions. It was his gouache and polyvinyl-acetate series on the River Murray-River series (1984 and the Coorong National Park-Coorong Sketchbook (1987) that firmly established his recognisable style. His technique today is very distinctive with the use of vivid colours and unique composition with many featuring wildlife to bring a form of realism into the contemporary landscape scenes. He has an interesting ability to capture the feeling of the rivers, lagoons and estuaries in his evocative style and he shows great skill in merging colour, light, space, rhythm of line and mass in a totally balance way.
Peter Coad has painted a new work "God, the Earth and Ourselves" at the request of Archbishop George. As an added item, Peter also painted eight banners. He has generously gifted those banners, as well as the painting, to the Church. The painting itself is expected to sell for as much as $20,000 - this gives an indication of the value of the banners which complement that work of art, especially as a set.
The Archbishop has suggested that the banners would be very desirably displayed permanently as a set, and has extended an offer to the St Mary Magdalene's to house the collection.
A SLIDESHOW OF THE BANNERS
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Article originally published in The Parish Mag, Issue 1, Sept-Nov 2003
