Biography

Peter M. Pierce was born in Mountain View, Ca, in 1969. By 1975, at age 6, 'Pete' was drawing daily, sculpting recognizable clay creatures, and making his own toys from cardboard. Frequently his youth works were displayed at the Palo Alto Junior Museum. In High School he received the school's certificate of excellence for ceramics. Pete continued his studies at the Art Institute of Southern California, Saddleback College in Mission Viejo, Santa Barbara City College, and the University of California at Santa Barbara. Post education he continued to pursue his enthusiasm for drawing while working part-time jobs. From these jobs he expanded his knowledge on many things, including horticulture, business, engineering, welding, and fabrication. He built a car from the ground up and later a single seat airplane from scratch. The knowledge gained from jobs and hobbies as well as his ardor for these facets of his life, is reflected in the detailed/technical nature of Pete's artwork.
Passions for skateboarding, surfing, music, and martial arts have also inspired Pete artistically. As a skateboarder, Pete has skated with many of the most influential names in the sport, including Steve Caballero, Mark Gonzales, and Tony Hawk among others. Surfing experiences include multiple sessions out in the water with world champions, Tom Curren, Kelly Slater, and Kim Mearig. As a musician, Pete learned to play the trumpet, clarinet, drums, banjo, and guitar. He also actively studies traditional Chinese martial arts. Past martial arts teachers include Scott Nordeng, Rob Moses, and David Tircuit. Rob Moses was also a teacher of David Caradine. David Tircuit passed to Pete some of what he learned from both Peter Ralston (the first non-Asian to win the Chinese Martial Arts World Championships in Taiwan) and Wong Jack Man. The subject matter of all of Pete's artwork relates in some way to one or more of his passions.
Currently Pete has been painting plein air seascapes. These works reflect his rural surfing experiences. His surfing life began in the cold, isolated waters around Half Moon Bay. At the time, it was an area known more for its pumpkins, brussel sprouts and artichokes than for surf. Pete later relocated near Santa Barbara where the coastline was still dominated by ranch land rather than urban development. Today Pete lives on the family's Hawaiian countryside farm. As a result, in contrast to the detailed/technical nature of earlier drawings, his newer pieces are more traditional, yet still very detailed in nature.
Pete has also worked with Developmentally Disabled adults, including tutoring Noah Erenberg, a Developmentally Disabled, professional artist who has had works shown all the way from Santa Monica, CA to Soho, NY.