Whenever I look around me I am amazed by the beauty of nature, its ever changing colour and movement. With my paintings I try to interpret this beauty to prevent it from fading - like a moment frozen in time. I started to get serious about painting after I won a prize for my painting "Jessie - Forever in my Heart". Jessie was our Golden Retriever who had passed away a couple of months before I started her portrait. It was a very painful process as I tried to capture my beautiful dog. It was my way of keeping the memory alive and dealing with the loss. Shortly after, we fostered a Beagle puppy which was so playful and full of spunk: an inspiration for the dog portrait "Frankie". Having been afraid of dogs for most of my life before we adopted Jessie as a remedy, I had finally found a way to share my love for man's best friend with others. However, I also love being outside. I love the diversity of the Canadian landscape. When some plein air painters asked me to join them it was terrifying at first to be surrounded with so much beauty while trying to pick a subject for my painting. There is so much information to absorp. The quick change of colour and movement make it as much fun as it is challenging to paint outside. I enjoy the sounds and smells of nature when I am sitting in front of my easel. It is a feeling I hope to capture in my paintings. I am glad I have to opportunity to do both: The work in the studio just by myself and the animals I love and the work outside feeling like a part of nature.

Kerstin Peters was born in Germany. Her interest in arts was evident from the beginning, but it was not until her mid-twenties that she studied at the Merian-Kunstschule in Rüsselheim under the well-known German painter Inge Besgen. Moving up the career ladder her love for painting was temporarily put in the back seat and she started correspondence studies in business and export. Only after moving to Ottawa, Canada with her husband, did she get back into painting. Kerstin took several courses and workshops in art institutions in the Ottawa area, e. g. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa School of Art. After receiving an award for her acrylic painting “Jessie – Forever in my Heart” in 2006, she decided that she wanted to spend more time painting. She joined a group of plein air painters with whom she has traveled to several destinations in Canada to capture the beauty of the Canadian landscape. Painting in her studio she shows her passion for animals (and especially dogs) in her lively portraits. In 2009 she won first prize for her dog portrait “His Majesty, Ringo I” at the Ottawa Art Association 2009 Fall Award Show in the “Other Media” category. Her favourite medium is acrylic, but she has also worked in oil, watercolour, charcoal and pencil. Her work can be found in private collections in Germany and Canada. As a member of several art organizations she is not only regulary exhibiting her work but hopes to inspire others to find and express their own creativity.