Putting together a show is always very revealing. With this show because it is strictly my city paintings it made me consider the reason for their existence. I realized that my work has a lot to do with my past, both near and far and the impact events and places have had upon me. The color landscapes speak of my past. I never think of growing up in Sask as a particularly colorful time, in fact I always feel I can only remember winter never summer. Even in photos when it is clearly summer and warm it still feels cold, physically cold. I have not found the reason for that and I believe I will have to continue painting till I have some idea of that. The city series is most recent events and places. Here are most of my adult memories. And although I do not think of TO as a particularly dark place some very dark events have occurred here. So is that why they are all dark paintings with titles that speak of heartbreak and loss? Perhaps. In many ways it is how the viewers react to the canvas that determines my sense of them. I know what I intended when I painted them. How successful was I in translating that, how clear was my mind while I was working.
If you have any thought on this please leave me a comment. I would welcome any thoughts. Its all about the journey.
The opening is this evening from 6-9. The show goes for 3 weeks at the Pilot, 22 Cumberland Street in Toronto.
