Biography
Chilliwack Lake (2021)
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I have been working as a full-time artist, illustrator, and designer, for over 30 years. My art is inspired by the nature that surrounds me.
The focus of my art is the exploration of natural history and biophilia – an innate tendency to seek connections with nature. I will go out exploring the many outlying regional parks for their lakes, ponds, streams, forests, meadows, mountain views, and even alpine regions, all within a 2-hour drive from my studio in Maple Ridge. There are many beautiful locations close to where I live waiting to be discovered and turned into paintings.
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My art and Expression
My artwork has always focused on detail. Enrolling in a full-time Fine Art program right out of high school, where I became known as the student who produced detailed artwork, did not make me popular with my art instructors who gravitated strongly toward the creation of abstract art. I could see their point, to get students to loosen up, to get them to try new forms of artistic expressions, and to explore design and colour. That is all good and I did comply with this while I was in their art school. You can learn a lot from abandoning your comfort zone creation process by embracing new forms of artistic expression. This is no different from traveling the world to learn how other cultures live, but I still wanted to render the beauty of nature in a way that was different from what I was seeing how other artists expressed. I have always felt the need to create art and always looked toward the natural beauty that surrounds me for inspiration. I have always tried to create art that reminds me of how nature influences me at an early age.
Recently, I joined the Garibaldi Art Club as a way to expand my artwork focus and to get into an art community.
Recently, I joined the Garibaldi Art Club as a way to expand my artwork focus and to get into an art community.
Me at Federation Gallery, 2024
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WORK HISTORYI have worked full-time in publishing for many years and for a wide range of clientele. This includes the creation of full colour cover art, cartography, woodcut/linocut art, full colour interior art, diagram art, Pen & Ink illustrations, and pure design layout work for magazine, book, and brochure publishers. It is how I worked and this greatly improved my skills as an artist. Working on a wide range art pieces, styles, mediums, and subjects has given me valuable practical experience that just having worked on what I felt comfortable creating would have ever given me. You learn far more when you work outside your comfort zone.
I had my first solo art show in February 2020. I had 5 months to create 30 paintings but had two jobs at that time, which left me with little time to paint. I worked an average 21 hours a day for three months and rendered 20 paintings. This meant I could now get 5 hours sleep for the remaining 2 months. I ended up with 31 paintings for my first solo art show.
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• Completed 5-years of full-time art studies specializing in illustration, painting, printmaking, and design
• I attained the highest GPA of A+ in my class • I was one of only two students to achieve an A+ rating in the history of the art program upon graduation. • Worked for 4-years in archaeology in British Columbia as an excavator, surveyor, field artist, and Illustrator. • Ran a graphics department full-time for 6-years, as an illustrator/art director for a Vancouver based publisher. • Worked as a freelance artist, illustrator, and designer for over 30 years on book and print-game products. • Teach acrylic painting to groups of 10-60 people; taught over 300 art sessions since March 2018. • I currently focus on creating natural history paintings for art gallery presentation and have since 2018. • Teach acrylic and watercolour painting for beginners for the Langley Arts Council (LAC) since February 2021. |
Art show History
I have had several art shows in my life starting with student art shows while attending art school. My emphasis has always been on working in the industry and on commissions than showing my art but since February 2020 I shifted my focus toward showing in art galleries. In May 2019 I submitted a portfolio of my artwork to the MAC gallery in Mission, BC, and was offered a solo art exhibition.
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Publication Interview
• August 2021, LandEscape Art Review interview and art presentation, London, England |
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Solo Art Shows
• Feb 2-Feb 27, 2022, Looking at Local Nature, The Gallery in Queen's Park, New Westminster, BC. • Apr 10-May 16, 2021, A Study Of Nature, Pitt Meadows Art Gallery, Pitt Meadows, BC • Feb 11-29, 2020, An Eye On Nature, MAC Art Gallery, Mission, BC |
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Group Art Shows
• Jun 15-Jul 21, 2024, Garibaldi Art Club Spring Show, Pitt Meadows Art Gallery - South Bonson Community Centre, BC • May 27-Jun 16, 2024, 2024 Vancouver Landscape Exhibition, Federation Gallery on Island City, Vancouver, BC Won Award • Jun 17-Jul 7, 2024, 2024 Vancouver Salon Exhibition, Federation Gallery on Island City, Vancouver, BC • Apr 10-May 22, 2024, 2024 I've Been There Exhibition Exhibition, The Timms Community Center Walkway Gallery • Apr 2-18, 2024, 2024 Bloom Exhibition, Federation Gallery on Island City, Vancouver, BC • Oct 17-27th, 2023, Nature Trust of British Columbia Exhibition, Federation Gallery on Island City, Vancouver, BC Won Award • Aug 11-12th, 2023, West Fine Art Show, Coast Langley City Hotel Convention Centre, Langley, BC • Mar 3-5th, 2023, West Fine Art Show, Yorkson Creek Middle School, Langley, BC • Jan 7 to Feb 5, 2023, Deer Lake Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC • Nov 7-Dec 18, 2022, Garibaldi Art Club Exhibition: Fall Show, ACT Art Gallery, Maple Ridge, BC • Sep 16-18, 2022, West Fine Art Show, Glass House Estate Winery, Langley, BC • Oct 1-Oct 30, 2021, Garibaldi Art Club Exhibition, Maple Ridge Library, Maple Ridge, BC • Oct 24-Dec 12, 2020, Garibaldi Art Club Exhibition: Fall Show, ACT Art Gallery, Maple Ridge, BC (Won "People's Choice Award") • Sep 5-Oct 19, 2020, 50 Year Anniversary Show, Deer Lake Art Gallery, Burnaby, BC • Jul 17-Aug 16, 2020, Fort Art Gallery, Langley, BC • Jun 2004, Maple Ridge Gallery/Gift Shop, Maple Ridge, BC • Nov-Dec 2003, Dreamscapes Gallery/Gift Shop, Maple Ridge, BC • Jun 1996, Maris Art Gallery, White Rock, BC |
PAINTING CLASSES
In Class Acrylic Painting Demo - 16x20-inch
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I teach Introduction to Watercolours and Acrylics painting classes through the LAC (Langley Arts Council) in Langley, BC. Classes are 3-hours long from 10 AM to 1 PM. This is the third set of painting classes I have run through the LAC starting in February 2021. Everyone is welcome to come out and paint!
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IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS
Painting Butterflies on Stones - 2022
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I teach several in-person workshops over the year which includes watercolours for XMas card designs and painting butterflies onto river stones. These are usually 5-hour workshops taught through the LAC (Langley Arts Council) and soon to be taught also through the Pitt Meadows Art Gallery. I will post ads for these workshops as they come up. I teach ages 15 or older. I provide much of the supplies although you are free to bring your own painting supplies.
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THE COLOURS OF PAINT I USE
When I paint using acrylic paints, I almost exclusively only use 5 paint colours and these are: Cadmium Yellow, Cadmium Red, Phthalo Blue, Titanium White, and Carbon Black. I will always mix the colours I use rather than rely on premixed paint tubes. This is how I was taught in art school and this became habit. I find mixing the colours I need on the fly faster and less disruptive to my thought process than having to stop to find a specific tube of paint hiding somewhere in my art box. Mixing my colours enables me to stay focused as I work.
Vector Art (Adobe Illustrator)
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I have been using Adobe Illustrator since the late 1980s starting with version 2. Today, I am using version 26. Hardly a day goes by where I am not working in either Illustrator or Photoshop or both. I created this artwork using Illustrator. I have created thousands of art pieces for publication or for electronic format presentations (websites) over the last 35 years.
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