96" x 198"  Opera #14,  acrylic on Canvas 2023, Triptych

 66" x 293", Opera # 13, acrylic on Canvas 2023

 

Opera #12, 78" x 66" 2021

 

Opera #11, 24"x 78", 2021

 

Opera #10, 24"x 78", "Spring snow" 2021

 

Opera  #9, 49 1/2" x 66" 2019

 

Opera #8, 66"x 93", "Spring Fever" 2019

 

Opera #7, 24"x 78"  "Spark" 2019

 Opera #6, 24"x78", "Notre Dame" 2019

 Opera #5, 24"x 78", "Nocturn"  2019

 

                                                                   

      Opera #3, 66" x 93" 2018

       Opera #4, 2018 acrylic on canvas 2018

           Opera #2, 66" x 108" acrylic on canvas 2018

      Opera #1,  66" x 90"   acrylic on canvas  2018

Oceanus #47.

"Project and Reflect"

acrylic on canvas 66" x 66"
2013

Oceanus #44,

King of Diamonds

acrylic on canvas, 66" x 66" 

2013

Oceanus 2014

Shenkman Art Center

Orleans Ottawa

Jan 12-27

Oceanus #45, "Ice Fishing"

30 " x 84" acrylic on canvas

2013

Oceanus #43, 

sold

Elan Fine Arts

The Herald St. Studio and Gallery

The Esquimalt studio

The Alexander Gallery

The Victoria College of Art Gallery

The Wallaston St. Studio

The Oceanus Series

The Oceanus series began with a breakthrough I had in my studio on Wollaston St. in Victoria, B.C in 1992 which turned out to be a pretty good year for me working in the studio. I had been experiencing a lot of ups and downs with gestural painting, but now I was beginning to establish some faith in my work. In my former work I had established a fair amount of certainty, but sometimes I did not realize what was happening in the piece. In fact my paintings then were paintings on top of paintings. The only thing that stood between me and the canvas was the sheer will to survive as a artist. I feel my first pure abstract paintings were simply that, a act of sheer will. The gestures had been large and powerful when beginning the piece and occasionally something would hold, but as I worked these gestures became smaller and smaller until there was nothing but dots. So what was in fact happening was I was doing a painting over a painting over a painting, etc. In my first pure abstract paintings, I decided to go with that and I was surprised how different each attempt turned out. In fact I could not seem to have the ability to reproduce a former painting intentionally if I tried. By the time I started the Oceanus series, I could understand my slow but steady process of layering. I had experienced a lot of hits and misses. It was really exciting to realize a painting when it was happening. I found that my willpower came integrity and meaning, so I decided to use a household paint roller to apply an even coat of glaze over my first attempt. During this stage of the painting, I had established the feature colours that I would adhere to through the entire piece. I would also use a variety of household tools to explore new ideas in mark making such as a plant sprayer, sponges and a number of dish mops to go along with the regular artist brushes. With these tools, I put the building of the paintings into perspective. I felt that through these simple tools I could afford to work large without over spending my time and energy. With these simple tools, I could establish a broader language of mark making which I could explore and learn to articulate. In the past I was lucky to finish one painting a month, but now I could possibly get one a week. In the beginning of this series I decided to be as direct as possible. The initial colours for the first pieces were black and white and the three primaries. From there I would follow through the colour spectrum. There were still more danger points however that even today I can't seem to get over. When ever I felt hesitant the piece would not seem to come together as well. If I started to fix something up that also meant trouble. If I even started manually doing the painting with a small brush that meant a lot of trouble. Once the prossess of painting has started, strange as it seems, it is now time to let go. Other artists have called it"the flow" when the artist feels creativity flowing through themselves rather then from themselves. To let go allows the painter to become a dancer, a composer or a actor. These are expressions of the soul, of the inner self. That which has an authentic connection with your inner being. An expression of real human spirit. I have found it very exiting to be able to do some work in this field of Art. I have been told that some of my work has turned out looking like arborite or rapping paper but I have never been so exited to have seen my painting transform the walls of a modern, contemporary home or a public building.

The Oceanus Series