PETER SCHENK
NATURE & ART
About the Artist
I enjoyed the privilege of growing up near rich Swiss nature with forests, wetlands, lakes and streams. The mountains were within easy reach and so our family spent a lot of time camping, hiking, fishing, observing nature and much more. I was allowed to accompany my grandfather on his hunting trips and his sharp eye impressed me enormously. I could never get enough of nature. It is therefore not surprising that biology always had a special place in my own education and professional life.
On numerous journeys, I specifically sought out large and intact wilderness regions in order to find ample time for observation, photography and drawing. My travels have taken me to the Amazon, the Galapagos Islands, Australia, New Zealand, Egypt, Thailand, Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, Canada, many Caribbean islands and Scandinavia. Within Europe I found the Iberian Peninsula with its rich nature particularly interesting.
Nature is the best artist: the variety of shapes and colors, the aesthetics of the structures that evolution has created are fascinating in the highest degree and represent an inestimable wealth on Earth. Unfortunately, this diversity is under massive threat worldwide. Habitats are being destroyed continuously and at a breathtaking pace to satisfy the greed for mineral resources, agricultural and living space of a continuously growing humanity. Quietly, many species are disappearing, and with them a value that cannot be expressed in monetary terms. Biodiversity is declining at an alarming rate. The more we understand nature, the more we realize how complex it is and how important it is for the continuity of our own species to preserve it with all our strength.
Inspired since early childhood, I passionately loved to draw and paint. My father, who as an architect aquired a high level of expertise in art and design, supported and encouraged me in the best possible way. Animal painting and photography is the perfect symbiosis of engagement with nature, travel and artistic expression. My art should sensitize the viewer: Look which fantastic environments and creatures nature has produced. I want to contribute to the conservation of habitats and biodiversity.
