"During his youth, wildlife artist Peter Skirka had dreams of becoming a veterinarian. His love for animals seemed to steer him toward a vocation where he could study and work with animals.
Serious painting began in high school. After serving in the Armed Forces, Pete continued his art education for several years. His memories of art school are varied and pleasant as he explains with a smile, ""I always had a clear idea of what I wanted to learn but my ideas did not always correspond to my teachers thoughts. I worked; I really applied myself for the first time in my life.""
""After leaving art school, I found a job in construction; I had a family to support, and in those days, even the most established wildlife artists had a very hard time. I never had any desire to paint anything 'manufactured'. So I painted a bit in my spare time and finally became so discouraged that I threw my paint set away. ""I gave up painting for five years.""
This was only the first of many times that Peter Skirka gave up painting. But there has always been that drive which must be present in all great artists - and so Skirka now paints full time. He's now a fine artist, and he loves it.
Pete now lives in Clinton, New Jersey, with four children. He proudly admits that he has ""received a great deal of encouragement from my children. ""They've been great! I paint on a rather unusual schedule - 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. - and they don't seem to mind the inconvenience at all."""
