Art 101

My art career began early in life with a box of crayons and a linoleum floor. It seemed the perfect canvas and I was closer to the ground in those days. Unfortunately, my Mum didn’t appreciate my efforts and sent me to my room sans crayons for the rest of the day. Being in exile was no fun but it didn’t diminish the feeling of connection I felt between crayon and creation.

Fast forward to high school where I discovered that of all mediums, acrylic paints have the most versatility. They allow you to paint light over dark like oils or thin washes like watercolour. The quick drying time, while it can be a downside for some artists, allows me the freedom to paint in layers and build to a “polished” finish and gives good coverage for alterations.

I had the good fortune to have had a wonderful art teacher in high school who encouraged me. He once commented about my work after I apologized for not making a line quite straight: “Who needs straight lines?” I stored that thought somewhere in the back of my mind.

"Saint's Alive" 

I set aside my art and didn't pick up a brush again until my thirties when I decided it was time to explore my artistic side once again. I took a few drawing classes and joined a local art guild in 1991. Taking more classes within the guild along with demonstrations from some of British Columbia’s well-known and established artists provided me with encouragement and creative inspiration. After some years of play and practice, I have now found my own “voice” using primarily acrylics in a unique “folk art” or “naive” style I have dubbed “wibbly wobbly.” My work consists of mainly local heritage homes, barns, and historical streetscapes. Sometimes they are a simple portrait, other times they are a narrative.

I like to use bold colours and never any straight lines (“Who needs straight lines?”) to capture an eye-catching interpretation. I want to invite the viewer to pause, reflect, and explore the scene.

I have had my work described as peaceful, restful, or “relaxed whimsical.” I was delighted to hear a fellow artist comment while observing a work in progress, “Gee, I’d like to go there.”

I really do paint for the pure joy of it, to regain that connection once again between “crayon and creation” is a wonderful thing, truly a gift from God given to mankind. I want people to feel that joy too, whether it’s the mood, the colours, or the scene. To trigger a smile, a memory, a reflection is my goal; I consider it a ministry in many ways.

I’ll reflect more on that in another article.