Biography
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I have worked as a full-time artist, illustrator, and designer, for over 30 years. My art has always been inspired by the nature that surrounds me.
My art focus is the exploration of natural history and biophilia – an innate tendency to seek connections with nature. I will often go out to explore the many outlying regional parks for their lakes, ponds, streams, forests, meadows, and mountains, 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 that I can turn into paintings.
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My art and Expression
My artwork has always focused on technical detail. Enrolling in a full-time Fine Art program right out of high school, when I created detailed artwork, did not make me popular with my art instructors who gravitated toward 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 art school. You can learn a lot from abandoning your comfortable 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.
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.
History OF MY WORK
I have worked full-time on many publishing projects over the years for a wide range of clientele, including the creation of full colour cover art, cartography, woodcut/linocut art, full colour interior art along with Pen & Ink illustrations, as well as design work for magazine, book, and brochure publishers. It is how I worked and improved my art skills over the years. Working in art makes you gain valuable experience rather than working whenever you feel you have the time to do so.
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• Completed 5-years of full-time art studies specializing in illustration, painting, and printmaking.
• Worked for 4-years in archaeology in British Columbia as an excavator, surveyor, field artist, and Illustrator. • Employed for 6-years, full-time, as an illustrator/graphic artist/art director with a Vancouver based publisher. • Worked full-time as an artist, illustrator, and designer for over 30 years for many book and print-game publishers. • Have been focusing almost exclusively on creating nature paintings for art gallery presentation since mid-2018. • Taught acrylic painting to groups of 25-60 people with over 170 sessions taught from March 2018 to present. • Teach painting classes at Langley Arts Council from February 2021 onward. |
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 over the last 12-months have I shifted my focus toward showing my artwork in art galleries. Previously, when I have been involved in an art show it was because my work came to the notice of a gallery owner and I was asked to partake in an upcoming show. In May 2019 I submitted my artwork to the MAC gallery in Mission and was accepted to have a solo art show.
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• Pitt Meadows Art Gallery in Pitt Meadows, BC
Solo Art Show: Apr 10 - May 16, 2021 • ACT Art Gallery in Maple Ridge, BC Group Show, Garibaldi Art Club Exhibition: Oct 24 - Dec 12, 2020 (I entered a single painting into this art show and won the "People's Choice Award") • Deer Lake Art Gallery in Burnaby, BC Group Show, Deer Lake Art Show: Sep 5 - Oct 10, 2020 • Fort Art Gallery in Langley, BC Group Show, Fort Langley Art Show: Jul 17 - Aug 16, 2020 • MAC Art Gallery in Mission, BC Solo Show, MAC Art Gallery: Feb 11-29, 2020 • Maple Ridge Gallery/Gift Shop in Maple Ridge, BC Group Show: Jun 2004 • Dreamscapes Gallery/Gift Shop in Maple Ridge, BC Group Show: Nov-Dec 2003 • Maris Art Gallery in White Rock, BC Group Show: Jun 1996 |
PAINT COLOURS 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 my habit. I find mixing the colours I need on the fly far faster and less disruptive to my thought processes 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 on my art.
RECENT CLIENT WORK
My current clients commissioned illustration projects (2020-21):
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• Client commission to create 150 full-colour icons for their mapping software: Jan 7th: Project expanded to include more pieces.
• Completed 26 illustrations for a medieval themed book, ranging from 1/4 to 1/2 page illustration sizes: Completed Jan 20th. • Started part-time position as a painting instructor (watercolours/acrylics) at a local institute (Feb 24th). • Client commissioned 12 illustrations for a medieval themed book, ranging from 1/4 to 1/2 page illustration sizes. |
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