Peter Salter


"Code is a Way of Life which brings Art in the Form of Technology"

Whack-a-cat! 0

A little about me

Polite in nature with a go-getter attitude and a sunny disposition - I grew up in St Paul's Cray, Orpington, on the periphery of London with my parents, my brother and my sister; both of whom are ten years older than me! I've always been teeming with energy and consider myself to be a family oriented person. I'm now living in Blackheath, South East London which is a twenty five minute walk from the very luscious Greenwich park where I like to go on long walks and contemplate Codewars katas...

Whenever I visit my Mum, she always has an army of cuddly cats and kittens for me to meet. My personal favourite is Oscar. Every time I arrive, I sneakily feed him treats. He's a cheeky cat who purrs for my attention because I used to let him sleep on my bed where he could get some peace from the other cats!

I started my journey into art as a child. I am bit of a movie fanatic and wanted to create my own characters and enjoyed bringing these characters to life by drawing them from my imagination. I allowed my imagination to run amok and wrote down ideas for potential comic/movie scripts. I hope to one day publish my own script! I really enjoy traveling to other countries. I like to see other cultures, how they live, how they eat and even attempt to pick up a bit of the local dialect. My favourite holiday destination to date was Rome in Italy. Some of the architecture was mind blowing and incredibly ancient. It feels almost miraculous that it has survived for so long. Walking into the heart of the Colosseum genuinely felt like traveling through time. I closed my eyes and tried to imagine how it may have looked when it was packed with Romans and gladiators fighting for their lives in the arena. How entertainment has evolved over the years! I also loved the food, linguine being my favourite, If I had to eat one meal every day for the rest of my life it would be linguine… and in Italy it’s even more delicious!

As a visual learner, I tend to learn by doing and tend to have to visualize things to gain an intrinsic understanding of them. I like to explore my creative side and enjoy project based work. My educational background is in Illustration/Graphic Design which I studied at the London College of Communication in Elephant and Castle. I've used technology such as Adobe InDesign to form grid layouts for stories I used to write and Photoshop for enhancing my artwork. I even showcased my art in exhibitions. Something I’ve noticed since starting my learning for the founders and coders course is that styling websites gives me the same sense of satisfaction I get from my artwork. I’m able to create things that I feel are both pleasing and intriguing to the eye. I’m hoping to explore this new creative medium further by enrolling on the founders and coders course.

I previously worked as an Assembly Submerged Telecommunications Technician which involves following engineering drawings for manufacturing Zener Diodes and wiring all connections from repeaters.

While this is interesting to me, I’d prefer something that gives me more freedom to express myself.

I've always had a strong interest in IT and technology industry and I would love the opportunity to pursue this interest further.

A present visit at Kew Gardens
Beautiful Kitten with Silky Fur
Interests
Painting of me coding

"Creativity and tech I believe go hand in hand. It’s all well and good making a website that works but you can never go wrong with an artistic yet professional front end!"

Movies

I have always been a big fan of horror movies, especially classic slashers like 'Friday the 13th' and 'Halloween'. When cinemas were open before this Covid chaos emerged I would get the popcorn ready impatiently awaiting the next big cinematic scare.
I love the adrenaline rush of watching a horror movie at the cinema. I feel like I am perfect synchronicity with the rest of the audience as we all react simultaneously after a sequence of nerve jolting suspense is released in a single fleeting moment. I also like how creative the film crew can be with stuff like prosthetics and special effects. I particularly enjoyed the villain Freddy Kruger in the film 'Nightmare in Elm Street'. I remember sneaking downstairs when I was younger, while my parents were watching it, and seeing a scene in which Kruger appears out of the victim’s nightmares. Despite the fact I now look at these films from creative standpoint, this scene still sends a shiver down my spine!

Comics

I have always been an avid reader of comics. I used to collect a number of comic book series such as 'Spider-Man' and 'X-Men' and remain a huge fan of artwork.
My all time favourite has to be Neil Gaiman’s 'Sandman' and its main character known as the lord of dreams. This collection really got the imagination flowing. The main protagonist escapes captivity and places his captors in a loop of never ending nightmares. This particular feature of the novel gave Neil Gaiman practically limitless scope for storylines and for me made the story consistently imaginative and action packed.

Illustrating

As you can probably tell, I have always liked to draw and paint. I am enthusiastic about using colour as a means of expressing myself and love to produce bright and vibrant pieces of character work. My style is some what surreal.
Expressions of emotion in faces can reveal a stories that I like to use as metaphors in my art. I tend to use acrylic paints. I also like to write my own stories and tell those stories via a series of expressive illustrations. An illustration can tell 1000 words!

Coding

I have found that coding has become a huge hobby for me in the past year and a bit. I love to problem solve. There is something very satisfying about getting those tests passing on Codewars. I’m looking forward to mastering these skills and using them to creative ends.

Gaming

I'm also a bit of a gamer. My favourite console is PlayStation. I find games with a storyline are the most enticing. It feels like watching a film, playing a game and reading a book at the same time. Only you feel more involved in that story as you’re actually in control of the main character’s destiny.

Why am I applying?

I feel that the Tech industry is becoming a more and more integral part of our day to day lives every year. Especially with Covid here, the need for tech has never been greater and I’d love to be part of this ever growing industry. I feel like every day brings a new challenge and the learning never ends. I’d relish the challenge of having a new task to perform every day and be constantly required to learn. I also want to build some artistic user interfaces and become a master of my new digital canvas.

I researched a number of web development bootcamps, however Founders and Coders stood head and shoulders above the rest. The workshops have been super helpful as I feel like I’m part a part of large community of people who are all there to help eachother. Whenever I needed help, someone was always there to pick me up and I found it really motivating to be working in a team of people all working on the same prerequisites to achieve the same goal.


I've seen a lot of crossovers between Graphic Design and Web Development. A lot of web development seems focused on making the website visually pleasing. At times it’s felt comparable to the classic Tetris game where you find a nice new home for every block. Merging these 2 disciplines could prove to be very rewarding experience for me!

I have a friend that joined the 2018 Cohort and he thoroughly recommended it, saying that it would change my life for the better.

Founders and Coders have created an inclusive and diverse community from an eclectic mix of backgrounds. It would make me happy to learn in a place in which everyone can feel safe and people are actively encouraged to be themselves. Fostering team spirit and individuality simultaneously is no easy task! I value the principles on which you’ve built Founders & Coders and would love to join, learn and contribute towards your community. Happy coding!