Peter Zielke

Peter Zielke was born in Berlin, Germany on February 22, 1937. He came to Canada in 1957 and headed west to Vancouver where he spent two years before moving to Edmonton. To Peter, Canada represented unlimited opportunities, and on his first journey from Montreal, he was greatly impressed by the vastness of the prairies, the beauty of the hills and mountains of Alberta and British Columbia.

Peter married Helga and they had five children. He had been interested in art since childhood but it was not until he came to Canada that he was so greatly inspired to paint. In 1967 he started painting his favorite sites in Western Canada and was persuaded by his family to devote all him time to his artistic talent.

“This is the country I love,” he claimed. “Everywhere I look there is so much I want to express through my paintings! The spirit of the Prairies is seen in every shack and building still standing, demanding from the onlooker respect in their decaying dignity,” he explained. “The people that built these dwellings had courage, hope and a love for the land.”

In his paintings, Peter captured the dramatic intensity and perseverance of these people and the feeling of ruggedness in these early settlements as well as the feeling of fresh, exhilarating open air in the landscape. He was a self-taught artist and sold numerous paintings in Canada and in the U.S. Peter also exhibited his paintings in the early 1970's in Edmonton at places such as the NAIT Little Theatre, the Alberta '70 Show in the Edmonton Art Gallery, the Glenbow Art Gallery in Calgary and various other Edmonton studios.

Peter Zielke, beloved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather, passed away at the Rockyview Hospital in Calgary on June 4, 2012. There is no formal service planned.

Peter will be lovingly remembered always!