Born and educated in England, Peter Randall-Kent's early years were spent on his family's farm in Essex and it was here that as an only child he developed a deep love for nature and the elements in all forms.

After an inconsequential private school education, Peter volunteered for service with the Royal Air Force, taking up a three year short service commission. His father was a graduate of the R.A.F. College Cranwell, and with several relatives involved with aircraft in various ways, it was inevitable that Peter would take a considerable interest in military aviation, even if this only became manifest at a much later time.

On leaving the R.A.F., and with the usual soul searching that can occur at this time of life, he tried numerous jobs before finally opting for a career in advertising as a photographer. After a few stints as an assistant in various studios, Peter set up his own in West Kensington, London, and quickly developed a clientele of magazines, advertising agencies and public relations consultants. At this stage of his career, what interested him most was the world of fashion photography.

Despite being reasonably successful in this highly competitive area, itchy feet and a questioning mind lead to a move to Sydney, Australia. This significant move stirred feelings of greater growth and freedom, and a rekindling of old desires to express himself with drawing and painting. Although having no formal training in these areas, Peter always perused art avidly as a hobby, and this inevitably affected his photography. An Art Director at the Lintas Advertising Agency set up an exhibition for Peter in 1977, and it was about this time that he was called upon to design and produce the then famous Lyre Bird Fashion Awards for two years in a row.

In 1989 Peter's photographic career peaked when he received the A I P P Photographer of the Year Award, as well as Best in Category and Best in Print.

During this time the desire to paint as a form of expression over and above photography began to manifest, and a resurgence of his passion for Aircraft began to emerge, and Peter began to paint World War II aircraft subjects with a great attention to detail and historical accuracy.

Exhibitions and commissions were forthcoming in short order, and Peter realized that painting would very soon replace photography as his major pursuit in life. The first exhibition in Paddington, Sydney, of his aircraft paintings was a great success, and lead to several commissions and articles in aviation magazines which served to create further interest in Peter's ability in this field. The second exhibition, also in Paddington, resulted in him being approached by a large publishing company to produce signed limited edition prints of his highly detailed and realistic work. This meant that he was the first aviation artist to be published in Australia.

More commissions and print releases were to follow. His originals and prints were featured regularly in the Bankstown Aviation Art Gallery, an extremely apt venue situated on Bankstown Airport. Two of his aviation prints gained Silver Medals in the prestigious National Print Awards.

It is not surprising that very soon a renewed interest in nature subjects emerged in Peter's life, this became manifest as larger than life brightly colored flowers, usually featuring an insect or two. A wildlife exhibition in Paddington at the then B & A Gallery featured a number of Peter's paintings which were an immediate sell out. His recent works have been available through several venues in Sydney, Art A to Z in the Queen Victoria building, Style Galleries in Hunter Street, and Masterpiece in Broadway and Wynyard. Stock sales and commissions for both private and corporate collections have been selling extremely well to various clientele including local, interstate and international.

Peter's most recent exhibition at the Warren de Maria Gallery displayed a diversity of pieces ranging from frivolously colorful to a slightly brooding surreal style, and almost invariably, the flowers were depicted as alive and growing with the occasionally attendant insect rather than as a still life.

In September 1998 Peter was commissioned to produce a painting of R.A.A.F. Kittyhawks on patrol out of New Guinea. The 77 Squadron painting featured the then Pilot Officer John Gorton, who was later to become Prime Minister of Australia.

The painting was commissioned by Peter I Forbes of Angels Twenty Fine Arts, a company in Victoria specializing in this highly specialized form of art.

Currently Peter is working on a painting of 77 Squadron Meteors, the lead aircraft flown by Air Vice Marshal (then Pilot Officer) Bill Simmonds, shooting down a Mig.15 over Korea in 1950.

Peters' next commission is a Hurricane of 213 Squadron R.A.F. during the Battle of Britain, piloted by Reg Llewellyn, regarded in all major publications on the subject as one of the heroes of this highly decisive conflict. This forthcoming print is also a product of Angels Twenty Fine Art.