About the artist

I have spent the past 20 years honing my skills in commercial photography as a freelance photographer, yet my love of and experience with the art form began with my parents.

My father was himself a photographer and began teaching me about photography technique and composition from a young age, while my mother, a Professor of Ikenobo - Japanese Floral Art – gave me a deep appreciation for color, composition, balance, and design.

Their teachings have led me to create immersive artworks, in large-scale print format that are elegant in their simplicity as well as deeply harmonious bringing the peace and joy of nature into the workplaces and homes of my clients.

My Career as a Professional Photographer

I launched my career as a professional photographer with a photograph of a honeybee on an orange Japanese Cosmos flower in my garden, being published in a major magazine.

That picture was created decades ago and despite the early accolades, I spent many years in commercial photography which didn’t leave me fulfilled. Eventually, I returned to the fine art world, with more satisfaction in my photography.

My artwork pays tribute to the beauty of the natural world and serves as an examination of the conspicuous, the beautiful, and the seemingly ordinary. I am inspired by the fact that the smallest exposures to nature can create the biggest differences in our lives and in our wellbeing.

Artist Statement

"I see my work as a tribute to the natural world, an examination of the conspicuous, the beautiful and the not so. My goal is to create unique art in unusual and remote, hard to reach places.

Rather than carefully stepping around an object and thinking what it might be, I focus on what it is. My process forces me to connect intimately with nature. I use its fleeting light and deep shadows to uproot thought processes from their private existence and arouse curiosity and intrigue that stimulate visual imagination.

Included in my work is a black and white limited edition of African landscapes. Black and white adds a timeless and authentic quality to the image, emphasizing deep tones that are fundamental to my work. I use rich blacks to portray the saturated emotions that brought me to the place and seek to interpret values that resonate with my own vision.

Images in my Nature Art series are named using traditional African Zulu maiden names. My father was born and raised in Kwazulu-Natal, home of the Zulu nation. It is fitting that I pay tribute to him and my natural heritage that has greatly influenced my work."

Peter Dooley

MY STORY