meet challenge member: Peter Hinton

Peter Hinton

1. Your name, location
Peter Hinton. The Hills District, Sydney

2. Describe your family
I am married to Sandra who is a stylist for a couple of magazines and between us we have our daughter Georgia who is 13 plus I also have a son from a previous marriage and who lives in England.

by Peter Hinton

3. Describe your work
My whole career has been involved in the financial markets either as a broker or trader and latterly a journalist. Initially in foreign exchange, I moved across to the energy markets in Australia in 1997 and after setting up the first broking desk for electricity I negotiated the first brokered trades in the burgeoning Australian market. Seven years ago I joined Thomson Reuters where I now cover the electricity, gas and renewables markets.

by Peter Hinton

4. What is your career goal?
To keep breathing for as long as I can! I started broking back in London when I was 21 saying that I would do it until I decided what I want to do for a living. It was a very stressful job and we were told we would be burnt out by age 30! Nearly 40 years later I now know that I would like to make enough money to live out of making art, but reality tells me that it is as far away as it has ever been. I can still dream though.

by Peter Hinton

5. Describe your art background
Ha! Welcome to amateur hour! I have always loved painting and drawing. My first recollection is of school holidays at my grandparents’ house spent opening out envelopes very carefully just so I could have paper to use. I passed my art and technical drawing O Levels, but that was it for many years as rugby, beer, girls and life in general got in the way. I came to Australia in 1993 and found it much easier to join courses and to learn. Watercolour has always been my first love but recently linocut and collagraphs have really started to interest me.

6. What do you love about the Challenge? What have you learned?
What’s not to love? The Challenge has given my butterfly mind a focus each week. A subject that I wouldn’t have thought to try and paint/draw and the freedom to try new approaches without fear of ridicule. Added to that friendship, camaraderie and support is a wonderfully uplifting thing. In an age when the internet is used for such petty and dark forces, I really appreciate an arena where everybody is positive and upbeat. Nicky, Tania and the entire admin team should be immensely proud in what they have created.

by Peter Hinton

What I have learned is that I am very impatient. If it takes longer than 30 – 40 minutes, it’s probably not going to happen. I don’t think any of my pieces have taken longer than that. Also, I am about the messiest would be artist in the world.

7. What is your favourite illustration you have done for the challenge so far?
This difficult because I dislike most of my paintings at some point and I always worry that they qualify as real illustration.  There are however three I do come back to and sometimes concede that they’re not too bad: Endangered Week 46 the leopard, Warm Week 48 my polar bear and Africa Week 25 zebras..  Eventually the household agreed that the leopard knocks spots off the others!

by Peter Hinton

8. Tell us something that we don’t know about you
I took part in the Noosa triathlon in 2000. It was the first triathlon I had done and I completed it in 3 hrs 13 mins and 38 secs. I liked it so much I went back the next year and took 15 minutes off my time. My official golf handicap is 16.