Water: Natural Icons of the Pacific Northwest

2260 Oak Bay Avenue

Preview
Saturday, June 13, 2009   10 am – 5:30 pm
(work subject to prior sale)

Opening Reception
Sunday, June 14, 2009   1 pm – 5 pm
Elizabeth Ely, harpist;   Karel Roessingh, piano

Exhibition continues until June 30, 2009

This show will consist of a number of landscapes that deal with the natural icons of the coast: oceans, rivers and mountains.  Primally connected to water through our physical and emotional needs, it may prove to be the most valued commodity on our planet.  Its ability to move our souls is well documented in the art, music and literature of our culture.

Thematically traditional in our culture, landscapes historically portrayed a pictorial record of a location and were arranged in strongly delineated foreground, middle-ground and background.   With the development of photography, some artists have had to redefine their purpose and intent.  Decidedly modern by intention and design, my paintings often compress and reduce these elements, and the abstract arrangement of the composition takes precedence.  The anecdotal detail of such representational art is included in my paintings, only to enhance the esthetic experience of the image.  Hopefully, the viewer will be elevated to a stronger connection with what I have distilled from my own experience.  ‘Icon’ then, suggests a higher connection to the image than just a pictorial record.

The Rockies, the Pacific Coast and the Gulf Islands are the predominant source of inspiration for these images.  Embedded within the show, the storm series consists of oceanscapes captured at Ucluelet within a brief one-hour window of opportunity.  Often the corridor of inspiration is limited by light, weather and tide conspiring against or for the artist.

Technically, the work is built upon Renaissance painting techniques with the addition of modern materials such as mediums, gels, and other various textural enhancers.  Initially, thin transparent layers of paint lay down the foundation underpainting for the subsequent build-up of opaque layers to bring the forms to their final finish.  This technique creates deep darks, brilliant midtones and strong highlights which all combine to create dramatic effects.  Large spontaneous brushwork during the underpainting stage helps to create the energy of the subject; subsequent fine brush strokes focus and sharpen the experience.

Trained at McMaster University and Sheridan College in the 70’s, I now call Vancouver Island home where I continue to paint and teach Art in the Comox Valley.  Historically, my earlier work focused on architectural landscapes, and over time my work has evolved to work predominantly with natural subjects only.