Cafe, Arles

Originally from Dorset, Peter Foyle studied at St. Martin’s School of Art, graduating in 1986. The same year he was a finalist for the Reader’s Digest Young Illustrator’s Award and he went on to a successful career as a freelance artist and illustrator until 1990 when he and his wife opened the Framework Gallery in Troon, Ayrshire, where he still lives and works to this day.

A great deal of Peter’s work takes its inspiration from his travels around the Mediterranean, from the sparkling light of Venetian waters to the sun dappled cafes of Provence. However Peter is just as comfortable painting the rugged Ayrshire Coastline, an Edinburgh cityscape or a still life set-up in his studio. His confident and adaptable style has earned him a number of prizes including the Royal College of Surgeons and Physicians Award at the Royal Glasgow Institute.

Working in oil on Belgian linen gives an organic feel to Peter’s work which is vital in his aim to capture and convey the light and atmosphere of his subjects. He works quickly across the entire canvas with deft brushstrokes, creating paintings that feel perfectly constructed but never overworked.  Every mark matters in relation to the whole painting and Peter’s expressive style sheds new light on even the most familiar locales and everyday objects.