bio/process

 

As a child, I loved to paint and draw.  I never placed any importance on it at the time but it continued as a sort of companion for my years growing up.  I saw things in nature I never took notice of before and I began to photograph in order to record my discoveries.  After studying and working in photography for some years, I discovered painting.  I realized I could no longer say what I wanted with the camera, but the idea of taking a blank canvas and making something out of nothing was intriguing and exciting.

Without the benefit of a formal art education I painted on my own.  I was fortunate enough to study with several well known Quebec artists in workshop environments and in classes at the Saidye Bronfman Centre of the Arts in Montreal, all the while being encouraged by my instructors but mostly by my own enthusiasm.

 

I rarely, if ever, paint what is in front of me; I draw from my own life experiences.  I love to travel and am captivated by the landscapes within the towns, cities and countrysides I visit.  I spend much of my time watching and absorbing. When I return home and to the studio, I allow the emotion of those experiences to rest within me and am stimulated to paint by the wash of those feelings. The painting is where the inner and outer landscapes meet.

 

In my early days in photography I had a teacher, A Zen Buddhist, who taught by philosopy rather than through the lens or in the darkroom.  He once said: "There is something I want you to think about before you click the shutter - if you had only a few days to live, what photographs would you take?"  I still think about this question often.  I try to bring it to my painting and it connects to the way I paint.  It's the immediacy and the energy that are important and getting the paint on the canvas fast enough to catch it.  I use my fingers, my sleeves, sticks, stones and feathers, and of course the paintbrush,  whatever will make the mark.  At that moment I don't care about anything else.  The kind of painting I do is spontaneous and intuitive.  If I lose that and get involved with detail, my work is dead.

 

Later, I will look at the painting, I will sit with it and see what's happening  on the canvas. 

If there is life in it and it excites me, I will share it with others.

The works on this site are pieces I would like to share with you. If you're interested in

seeing more, I would be happy to hear from you.