Peter Matthews was born in Derby, England in 1978. He is best known for making unique paintings while being in the ocean, not just floating on it but also immersed and, at times submerged in the middle of it. His artist tools and materials are strapped to his body which allows the natural rhythm of the ocean’s tides and waves to organically create the artworks. Each work can take anywhere from several hours to multiple days. Since he is in the ocean for such long periods of time, he has experienced moments of danger resulting in injuries as well as disease.

Matthews' work has been seen internationally and has been used to illustrate marine biology research. He has lectured at universities and was an artist in residence at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.