Peter Stiles, PVAC Associate

As part of our participation in the Plymouth Visual Arts Consortium (PVAC) we became part of their Associate Artist Scheme in 2010. This involves us hosting an artist for a year as an intern.

Our Associate Artist was Peter Stiles, a painter who is based in North Devon.

For his residency with us, Peter was asked to spend time studying the work of famous Plymouth artist, Sir Joshua Reynolds, who urged art students to study and identify the best features of the Old Masters and incorporate them within their own work.

As part of his research Peter visited collections in and around the Plymouth area. He also read the lectures Reynolds gave at the Royal Academy in London.

Peter then spent time at the Museum creating drawings inspired by the permanent collections. As he carried on with his practice away from the Museum he began to notice that elements from the drawings he’d done were affecting his studio work – with the time he’d spent surveying the natural history collections giving him a new way of painting rocks and clouds, introducing birds into his work and influencing his sculptures.

Peter also co-ordinated a series of Associate Artist exhibitions at Plymouth Arts Centre while British Art Show 7 was on display in the City from September to December 2011.

His solo show, 'Transmitter', was displayed from 29 October to 12 November. It concentrated on the impact that his time at the Museum has had on his studio practice and featured some of the work that he created after he had spent time studying Sir Joshua Reynolds’ approach to painting and the city’s permanent collections.