Peter Lauren Tysver was born in Gloucester, MA in 1946 into a family of Gillnet fishermen who had emigrated from Michigan. Tysver's love of the sea began as a teenager when he assisted on his father's boat, while his love of painting developed during summer evening visits to the studios of Rocky Neck artists. With money earned, assisting on his father's boat, he purchased his first set of oil paints at a neighborhood yard sale and a canvas board at the Yankee General Store.

With these newfound materials in hand (the paint set was a Grumbacher with an instructional guide enclosed on "How to Paint a Still Life"), he attempted his first oil. Benefiting from critiques and encouragement from Raymond Frazier, a Clipp...