About Pete Sinjin

Pete Sinjin didn’t start things off as a painter…

He drew constantly as a wee lad. Just constantly. Then there was a stretch of cartooning for a local paper that lasted through his early teens. Then he picked up a guitar, and became a songwriter throughout his twenties. On a whim he tried acting and thus passed some portion of his thirties before returning again to music, performing, and making records (he’s made 5).

Then, just around the mid century mark, after years of sheer intimidation, he picked up a brush loaded with paint and went back to the visual art that first fed his spirit as a child, and he’s never looked back. (Except to write this bio in the third person)

My Painting Process…

I do the majority of my painting work in the style known as ‘plein air’. That’s a fancy French way of saying I paint outside. 

Working outdoors allows me to respond honestly to the scene that I aim to capture and keeps me engaged with the natural changing conditions of the day as well as the local activity around me. 

You’ll find me most days somewhere in the city with my brushes, portable easel, and a wooden palette, set up on a busy street corner or under a bridge or standing on a bus island. I’ve even been known to paint on subway platforms. *

My Paintings

The work I do is variously described as realist with a touch of impressionism. That’s fair, I think…

My takeaway from all the creative explorations mentioned above is that for me, it all comes down to the story. Whether it be music, theatre, or visual art, my heart has always been fixed on the narrative. A good painting, for me, tells a good story and asks the viewer to bring their own imagination, their own ideas and possibly their own memories to the scene. Just like a listener brings their own experiences to a song, the best paintings ask the person looking to engage themselves, to ask their own questions and draw their own conclusions about what they’re seeing. My grandest hope and ambition is that my paintings resonate in a way that makes you, the viewer, feel like your story is there on the canvas as well.

*As you might have guessed, as vibrant and interesting as New York City can be, I frequently find myself in interesting encounters with its wondrous citizens. If you’re curious to see what that’s like, and even follow some of my adventures painting in other places in the world, please check out my YouTube series, ‘Painting With Pete’