An Artist Retreat

I'm a studio painter. I used to do plein air style work, as a student. I tried all sorts of different ways of working, different materials, different mediums. But slowly over time I developed a process and subject that work well for me. One that suits my personality. I think every painter or artist eventually finds a way of working that suits their personality.

So when the time comes to travel, I usually start to get anxious about leaving my work place.

A secluded artist retreat.

So it took much thought and preparation when my family was presented with the opportunity to live for a month in a country home, far from the city, far from my studio. It's something my wife and children were really looking forward to doing. Spending time with animals and deeply immersed in a quiet sanctuary on our own.

The place we were staying provided a studio space for me, and I'm so grateful they took the time to figure out how to make it work for me. So I was able to pack up my space and work the way I'm used to. With several exhibitions coming up this fall, there was no option to take time off painting. I need to keep going and follow the momentum of my work.

Every day, the landscape took us by surprise.

The experience we had over the month of being away is something that will stick with every single one of us for the rest of our lives.

My children spending time with animals that were once intimidating.

Time with animals makes you feel more human and more alive.

Without any exaggeration, the most stunning sky you can imagine.

So in the end, we all got something out of our time away. Every day we walked out in to the hills and were mesmerized by our surroundings. We found out about what has been missing from our lives, and now see things we have been taking for granted. And now we will add a little of what's missing, and appreciate the things we have a little more.

Silhouettes

These two paintings are all about the negative space and the silhouettes they create. The square canvas, deep black rectangular body to the right, and the triangular shape of the bellows with its repetitive lines make it a simple yet bold composition.

The candle stick phones do the same thing, but along with the movement cords there is a subtle hint of color — a patina on the phones metallic parts that bring it just barely out of the monochromatic tones. The phones also have such a strong character. My wife says they almost seem penguin-like with their stance and beaks turned in opposing directions.

As subjects, they're like an homage to the roots of our technology that is common place to us now. We obsess over our smartphones and seem to forget how breakthroughs in photography and telecommunications have been going on for 100+ years. Right at the very foundation of it all, nothing has changed. All this stuff is about connecting and sharing. It always has been.

Antique German Camera

24" x 24"  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012

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Antique Candle Stick Phones
24" x 24"  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012
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Oliver Profile

If I had to pick a favourite out of the 22 paintings I made for the June 2012 exhibition at the Elliott Fouts Gallery, I'd have to consider Oliver Profile. It's something I did for the pure enjoyment of getting lost in all the details.

On first glance, not many people would know what it is. It stands out, being almost unrecognizable as a typewriter (I assure you, it is one) with it's unique wing-like design.

I found this typewriter in an old-tech "graveyard" of sorts. Hidden in the back of an ancient town hall in the middle of the prairie, sits a dark room bursting with adding machines, typewriters and copy machines. And on a low shelf in a corner I found this typewriter, where it sat for decades, unnoticed with its cover firmly in place. It was completely abandoned by time and technology advances.

I marvel at the intricate mechanics. The engineering prowess it took to piece together such a complicated machine simply intrigues me.

I chose to look at the typewriter from a different angle — a dead-on side profile. The negative space the profile of the typewriter creates, the contrast of the heavy, solid, deep green body and the myriad of dials, gears, knobs, levers, bolts — it was such a pleasure to paint. And through painting, I think the object goes through an organic metamorphosis. After some time, I finally figured it out — this typewriter was basically a functioning piece of steampunk art. That's why I love it.

Oliver Profile
20" x 30"  |  Oil/Canvas  |  2012
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