I have recently circled back to the visual arts after a career focused on words — teaching Renaissance and Canadian literature in Alberta, Arizona and Newfoundland, and most recently, at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario.
Looking out to the horizon in this beautiful natural environment is a gift to any artist. But I enjoy shifting focus to the beauty that resides along the edge of the trail — to what I call “micro-landscapes” — remembering William Blake’s hope that, as we age, we retain the ability to “see heaven in a wildflower, and eternity in a grain of sand.” And so, while continuing to paint traditional landscapes, for the past four years I have been engaged in a project of exploration of the smaller things we too often ignore.
This project began with photography, and continues to be grounded there. But it has expanded into painting (often with palette knife) and other media, including block printing. Whether on canvas or in photographic images, my “micro-landscapes” often evolve into "natural abstracts": extreme close-ups of natural objects in which the focus shifts to pattern — an intricate arrangement of shape, line, colour and light.
Looking out to the horizon in this beautiful natural environment is a gift to any artist. But I enjoy shifting focus to the beauty that resides along the edge of the trail — to what I call “micro-landscapes” — remembering William Blake’s hope that, as we age, we retain the ability to “see heaven in a wildflower, and eternity in a grain of sand.” And so, while continuing to paint traditional landscapes, for the past four years I have been engaged in a project of exploration of the smaller things we too often ignore.
This project began with photography, and continues to be grounded there. But it has expanded into painting (often with palette knife) and other media, including block printing. Whether on canvas or in photographic images, my “micro-landscapes” often evolve into "natural abstracts": extreme close-ups of natural objects in which the focus shifts to pattern — an intricate arrangement of shape, line, colour and light.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Like what you see? Email me and let's connect.
Like what you see? Email me and let's connect.
Bladder Campion, Acrylic, 11x14
Burr oak "the beginning", Acrylics, 12x12
Larkspur, Linocut print, 11 x 14
|
High Bush Blueberries, Acrylic, 16x12
Van Gogh In The North Woods, Acrylic, 18x24
|
Hastings Waterfront, Acrylic, 12x24
