Peter Churcher's first qualifications were in music, not art. Travelling through Europe after gaining his Licentiate for Piano Performance from Trinity College, London, he visited a great many galleries and was persuaded to return to his original preoccupation, painting. After graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting) in 1991, he held his first solo exhibition in 1994. Churcher was appointed Australia's Official War Artist in 2002. His paintings and drawings of the Australian military's engagement in the Coalition against Terrorism are on show at the Australian War Memorial.