Lesley Peterson was born in 1943 on the island of St. Maarten and has lived on the island of Curaçao since he was one year old. He began painting at an early age and sold his first paintings in 1962 when he was nineteen and still in school, studying to be a teacher. He is self-taught and broadened his skills and knowledge of art through literature on painting techniques and art history and by visiting museums and art galleries in different parts of the world, gaining appreciation for the masters and contemporary painters. In the late sixties and in the seventies he produced surrealist paintings, which were sold without having been exhibited. His style at that time was inspired by the works of surrealist painters like Salvador Dali and René Magritte. Around 1971 he and some other local artists started a foundation called “Libertas”. He was one of the founders and a board member of this group which included painters, sculptors, etc. Libertas renovated a house in Scharloo which was used for exhibitions for some years. He participated in group exhibitions with Libertas at that time. Although he painted very little in the eighties and nineties, due to his commitment to his work as a school manager, he still produced and sold some works. He has worked as an English teacher, a guidance counselor, a high school principal and an educational director. Being also a certified mediator he sometimes conducts workshops on conflict resolution for interested parties. From 1999 on he has dedicated more time to his first love, the art of painting, and his present style is what he himself calls “symbolic realism”. Although he started painting with oils he now works almost exclusively with acrylics. His realist paintings of objects, people and landscapes are infused with his own symbolism and style. He is especially inspired by realist painters like Andrew Wyeth who said “I search for the realness, the real feeling of a subject, all the texture around it …. I want to come alive with the subject.”
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