Andrew Family Art Gallery

Peter Steinmetz

About the Artist

I was born on November 1942 in Bessemer Michigan and raised with various families in Ashland and Hurley, WI.  I was always doing drawing of one kind or another, but never took any specific art class because during the Sputnik era anyone with Math/Science aptitude was placed in Math and Science classes.

I graduated from Hurley High School and enlisted in the USAF at age 17. I was trained in airborne weapons control systems (electronics). After four years of service, I enrolled in Pre-engineering/Math at Northland College in Ashland.

In my sophomore year I transferred to UW-Oshkosh and changed my major to Art Education. During this time (1966-67), I had my first introduction to Door County. I shared a gallery with another artist, Dick Lauder. We had our gallery set up in the summer at the old Nor-ski Lodge in Fish Creek. Richard worked primarily in watercolor, and I worked mostly in oil. In the winter I worked as a TV repairman to finance my schooling.

After graduating from UW-Oshkosh in 1969, I had an Art Teacher position at Madison West High school. In 1972 my wife Jill and I moved up to Door County. We worked as summer managers of the Liberty Park Lodge in Sister Bay. We decided to drop anchor there and had our gallery in a number of locations, living mostly in Egg Harbor through 1980. During those days Egg Harbor was not built up like it is today and I worked in the winter as an industrial electrician in Sturgeon Bay. Also, during this period, I had a temporary position as an Art Teacher at Gibraltar High School for two school years.

In 1980 we moved back to Madison where I took a position as a Technical Illustrator at Nicolet Instrument Corporation. I went back to school again and took writing and business classes during my career with Nicolet. Nicolet was a high-tech company that produced everything from Fourier Transform Spectrometers to Mass Spectrometers. This position evolved into technical writing and eventually I became a Marketing Communications Manager for the Industrial X-ray Group. We had a short stint in San Diego and moved back to Madison where I did consulting and eventually became Marketing Communications Manager with Bruker Analytical Instruments. This company designs and develops Single Crystal Diffraction, X-ray Diffraction Systems, and X-ray Fluorescence Systems. The parent company, Bruker, is involved in a total array of high- tech scientific instrumentation. It was fun to be on the leading edge of technology.

All through this whole timeframe, I worked with watercolor painting as an avocation. When my wife passed away in 2005, I retired and began to resurrect my painting fulltime. When attending a gallery opening at the Miller Art Center, I was encouraged by Charlie and Carol Gresko-Lyons to work on miniatures to help get back into the swing of things. Good stuff has come from that new beginning and the Paint Box Gallery. I would love to be back in Door County, however, heart disease and rheumatoid arthritis keep me close to the VA in Madison.

Artist Reception

An Artist’s Reception will be held August 24th from 5:30-7:00 pm at Creekside Place, 102 Maple Street, Evansville, WI

About the Andrew Family Art Gallery

Thanks to our dedicated Art Committee, the gallery regularly features the work of local and area artists. From professionals to hobbyists to elementary school children, we’re fortunate to enjoy these inspiring displays all year long. Stop in and browse at your convenience. We think you’ll be impressed!

It is the mission of the Creekside Place Art Committee to raise awareness of art and make art accessible to everyone in the community; to support art in the public schools and the community; to support area artists; and to add value to Creekside Place. To accomplish this, the Art Committee will:

• Display a consistent showing of high-quality, professionally presented contemporary artwork for public viewing
• Provide a venue for area artists to present and sell their work
• Promote area artists and present a variety of media
• Provide social and educational opportunities to meet and learn from artists
• Support Creekside Place through commissions from artwork sold

Attention Artists

Interested in featuring your work in our gallery? ​Our Art Committee would love to meet with you. Contact us for more information.

Previously Featured Artists