Peter Kotka

 Peter was born in 1951 to an English mother and an Estonian father. Having originally trained as a tool maker Peter took up painting in 1979. Largely self taught, Peter developed his technique by studying the work of 17th Century Dutch landscape and still life artists such as De Heem, William Kalf and especially Jacob van Ruysdael. Peter paints still life in both traditional and contemporary styles. For the former he paints in great detail incorporating the conventional elements of the genre such as wine glasses, fruit, china bowls and bottles of fine wine. For the latter he takes a more dynamic approach with challenging compositions and contemporary components.

In 2004 Peter was invited to take part in a prestigious Still Life exhibition in California, where he was the bestselling artist in the show. He has continued to paint fine wines and still life and has achieved much acclaim and recognition for his work. He is one of the world’s most renowned Fine Wine artists and was recognised in both the 1998 and 2006 volumes of "British Artists since 1945".

He says of his work: "My paintings evolve through ideas and experimenting, and my inspiration has come from various sources such as Dutch painters, from classical realism and still life techniques and also fine wine. My personal interest and knowledge of wine has kindled my interest in depicting wine in my painting, and I have been fortunate to be able to blend two of my passions."