Peter Rindlisbacher, Sailor and Master of by Donald E. Graves eter Rindlisbacher, whose paintings depicting the hard-fought 1813 Barde of Lake Erie, shown here, grew up around boars and water. A native of Tecumseh, Ontario, a scenic little town on the shore of Lake Sr. C lair across from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, he owned his first boat, a seven-foot pram, at the age of nine and later worked as a sailing instructor in the junior division of the local yacht club. Rindlisbacher's interest in sailing thus dares from an early age, bur his interest in marine art came later when he was getting his undergraduate degree in psychology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, far from any large body of water. Ir was then that he began painting sailing ships as a hobby and a method of relaxation. This pastime very quickly developed into something much larger and, by the time he was completing his doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Q ueen's University in Kingston-chosen because Kingston is a sailing center-his art was competing with his studies as a vocation. After considerable thought, Rindlisbacher decided to try and make a living as an artist. It was a calculated gamble, bur it has paid off. In the last three decades, Rindlisbacher has established himself as one of North America's finest marine painters. Besides private commissions, he has completed paintings for the US Navy, the Coast Guard, the National Prelude to Battle, oil on canvas, 24" x 36" Park Service, the National Historic 0930: Perry tacks his squadron to windward out ofPut-in-Bay in the frustrating morning zephyrs. Sites Service of Parks Canada, the New York State Department of Education, the Canadian War Museum, the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes, and the Michigan Maritime Museum, as well as many other institutions and organizations. His art graces the jackets of no fewer than thirty books (including five written by this author) and many magazine covers. His primary interest is in sa iling warships, particularly those of the War of 1812, and he has completed nearly 150 subjects from that conAicr. Bur Peter has also painted commercial vessels, pleasure craft, and modern warships. One of his current commissions is HMS Hood, the finelined but doomed British battle cruiser sunk in 1941. Rindlisbacher approaches his work on a number of levels. Beyond his artistic talent, which is immediately apparent and makes him a fitting member of both the American and Canadian Societies of Marine Artists, he possesses other attributes that contribute to the accuracy of his works.
General Hunter in Battle 1215: The early minutes of the battle just as the ships were beginning to find their range and sustain casualties. oil on canvas, 24" x 36"
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SEA HISTORY 144,AUTUMN 2013