ARTIST STATEMENT: The Art of Responsibility
Art for me is about self-expression, craftsmanship, purpose, and concept. Art is meaningful. I can often sit for hours at a time at my drafting table completely absorbed in the work that I am doing. I hate to be disturbed when working because I find such peace of mind, happiness, and relaxation when drawing; even if that means missing dinner or staying up too late even though I have to work at 9 the next morning. I think it has to do with the creative outlet; the rendering of composition, the repetition of line work when drawing fur and feather, over and over; shifting to a new state of mind that is completely free of clutter, commotion, and business. Nature is so important to me; it is a realm of peace and tranquility. I will often wander outside, with or without a camera, just taking in the incredible beauty of nature. I love taking long drives out in the country, absorbing the world around me. Expressing my love of nature in my art is something that I have done since I was a child and will always do. I think that realism is the perfect way to capture nature's beauty, especially in the organisms that live within it, who are a part of it, just as we are. So in some sense, drawing wildlife helps me to relate to nature and be a part of it more. I love realism, especially because it is rarely done in the modern art world nowadays.
To quote one of my favourite artists, Robert Bateman, "modern art has turned beauty into a bad word. Yes, art should not always be beautiful, but it does not need to always be ugly either." I have come across a wide variety of art in my studies at the University of Guelph and in my early career. I've worked within other mediums and completely different genres of art. I've had a lot of fun doing film photography and conceptual art. It allows me to be really creative and expressive and build my experience of working within other art forms. And yet, it does not bring me the same joy or peace of mind that I get when working on a wildlife realism drawing. I've struggled with some of the things I'm taught in the institution today. Art has become so far removed from the average public that only the elite and most enveloped and invested in the modern art world are able to experience it, see it, understand it, touch it, buy it, use it... I want to create art that anyone can be a part of, whether they are regularly interacting with the art world or not. Today's art is so much about the concept that I find artists often overthink themselves; the ideas are great, but the application of them can often lose the idea or the purpose or the artistry. Don't think I don't like modern art, because I do, I've invested my skills into it, but I think that the best art is a perfect marriage between concept and skill; idea and technique; meaning and manoeuvres. I've had a difficult time dealing with the institution building up the artist's technical skill set for so long, just to throw all that they learn out the door; to completely deskill themselves at the mercy of a "good" idea. I've seen a lot of bad ideas in conceptual art. I've seen a lot of bad paintings in wildlife realism too. But still, who am I to judge whether art is good or bad? I want to create art that can be both conceptual and technical, still hang in someone's family room, something that people can still relate to, but also that has meaning and purpose, that brings forward important issues and problems in our world today.
In one of my handmade silkscreen prints, I've depicted the simple face of a polar bear, an animal known by almost everyone in the world. The title of it is "This Is Not a Coca-Cola Ad". I wanted to play with the idea that animals and nature are not the advertisements or used pieces of corporate investments. Polar bears are incredibly endangered and they definitely do not drink Coke. Although I appreciate what the Coca-Cola company is doing in advocating for polar bear conservation, the problem is so much bigger than just preventing the polar bears from disappearing. The problem has deeper roots in the way many people do not care about the world that they live in. I don't want to draw birds, foxes, and polar bears just because I enjoy them. I want to draw them because I believe that people need to see them. For the sake of our natural planet, people need to see the incredible beauty of the world that they live in and that beauty cannot be taken for granted. People need to see these incredible animals in their natural habitat to know how amazing Earth is without the staining touch of human influence. I want people to see these beings the way I see them; important, powerful, valuable, significant. If people simply knew how important the natural world around them is, I think our society would look very different...
So why do I draw? Hmmm... well I think the simplest answer is that I can't really paint. At least, that's what I've come to say... but as I've developed my skills in drawing, I've found that I don't need to be a master painter to bring across the concepts and ideas that I've just been talking about. One thing I appreciate about modern art is that your medium can be basically anything; painting, drawing, sculpture, readymades, plastic, porcelain, metal, garbage, light, fabric... yeah, anything. Drawing in the past hasn't really had a "finished, professional look" to it. Drawing is likely known to most people as preliminary sketches and something that you do with pencils and pencil crayons, but drawing can be so much more! My drawings have evolved into a new form of professional artistry: they are finished works that I value as much as a museum would value its original paintings. And to be honest, my drawings are paintings in some ways; working with coloured chalk pastels that blend, smudge, smear, wash, dab, wipe, and show the same meanings that come across in painting. Although I work in realism and I like to draw what I see, I still take notice of the elements of design: line, shape, form, colour, texture; pattern and design in natural elements of fur, feathers, skin, wood, plants, atmosphere and skies. So it doesn't really matter that the drawings aren't paintings, but at the same time, it matters so much that they are drawings and not paintings. That makes them unique. That makes them my own.
I also want to share that I find incredible amounts of spiritual meaning within the world of art! I find it not just within my art, but also within nature... and I should really say Creation if I want to be true to myself. I feel closer to God in nature and when doing art than almost anywhere else. I feel that this is a gift that I should not take lightly. This is something that I want to pursue, engage, drive, and live in. A cool idea found in the book of Genesis (2:15) is the idea that we have been given the task of being stewards of creation. A steward in the Middle Ages was a caretaker, or a manager of a throne or Kingdom while the actual ruler could not be present or capable of being in control. Therefore, as stewards of this Earth, of creation, it is not just a good thing to be "green", but to take care of this planet, it is our responsibility to do so. If my art can help others be more aware of nature, respectful of it, involved in it, part of it, than I know that it really is my obligation to create the art that I do.
I want to continue to create art that celebrates the natural world, expresses environmental concerns and animal rights, shows my love for nature, and reminds people of our role as humans to take care of the planet we are a part of. To me, art is not just a hobby or something that I enjoy doing; art is something that I live to do, it is a part of me.
To quote one of my favourite artists, Robert Bateman, "modern art has turned beauty into a bad word. Yes, art should not always be beautiful, but it does not need to always be ugly either." I have come across a wide variety of art in my studies at the University of Guelph and in my early career. I've worked within other mediums and completely different genres of art. I've had a lot of fun doing film photography and conceptual art. It allows me to be really creative and expressive and build my experience of working within other art forms. And yet, it does not bring me the same joy or peace of mind that I get when working on a wildlife realism drawing. I've struggled with some of the things I'm taught in the institution today. Art has become so far removed from the average public that only the elite and most enveloped and invested in the modern art world are able to experience it, see it, understand it, touch it, buy it, use it... I want to create art that anyone can be a part of, whether they are regularly interacting with the art world or not. Today's art is so much about the concept that I find artists often overthink themselves; the ideas are great, but the application of them can often lose the idea or the purpose or the artistry. Don't think I don't like modern art, because I do, I've invested my skills into it, but I think that the best art is a perfect marriage between concept and skill; idea and technique; meaning and manoeuvres. I've had a difficult time dealing with the institution building up the artist's technical skill set for so long, just to throw all that they learn out the door; to completely deskill themselves at the mercy of a "good" idea. I've seen a lot of bad ideas in conceptual art. I've seen a lot of bad paintings in wildlife realism too. But still, who am I to judge whether art is good or bad? I want to create art that can be both conceptual and technical, still hang in someone's family room, something that people can still relate to, but also that has meaning and purpose, that brings forward important issues and problems in our world today.
In one of my handmade silkscreen prints, I've depicted the simple face of a polar bear, an animal known by almost everyone in the world. The title of it is "This Is Not a Coca-Cola Ad". I wanted to play with the idea that animals and nature are not the advertisements or used pieces of corporate investments. Polar bears are incredibly endangered and they definitely do not drink Coke. Although I appreciate what the Coca-Cola company is doing in advocating for polar bear conservation, the problem is so much bigger than just preventing the polar bears from disappearing. The problem has deeper roots in the way many people do not care about the world that they live in. I don't want to draw birds, foxes, and polar bears just because I enjoy them. I want to draw them because I believe that people need to see them. For the sake of our natural planet, people need to see the incredible beauty of the world that they live in and that beauty cannot be taken for granted. People need to see these incredible animals in their natural habitat to know how amazing Earth is without the staining touch of human influence. I want people to see these beings the way I see them; important, powerful, valuable, significant. If people simply knew how important the natural world around them is, I think our society would look very different...
So why do I draw? Hmmm... well I think the simplest answer is that I can't really paint. At least, that's what I've come to say... but as I've developed my skills in drawing, I've found that I don't need to be a master painter to bring across the concepts and ideas that I've just been talking about. One thing I appreciate about modern art is that your medium can be basically anything; painting, drawing, sculpture, readymades, plastic, porcelain, metal, garbage, light, fabric... yeah, anything. Drawing in the past hasn't really had a "finished, professional look" to it. Drawing is likely known to most people as preliminary sketches and something that you do with pencils and pencil crayons, but drawing can be so much more! My drawings have evolved into a new form of professional artistry: they are finished works that I value as much as a museum would value its original paintings. And to be honest, my drawings are paintings in some ways; working with coloured chalk pastels that blend, smudge, smear, wash, dab, wipe, and show the same meanings that come across in painting. Although I work in realism and I like to draw what I see, I still take notice of the elements of design: line, shape, form, colour, texture; pattern and design in natural elements of fur, feathers, skin, wood, plants, atmosphere and skies. So it doesn't really matter that the drawings aren't paintings, but at the same time, it matters so much that they are drawings and not paintings. That makes them unique. That makes them my own.
I also want to share that I find incredible amounts of spiritual meaning within the world of art! I find it not just within my art, but also within nature... and I should really say Creation if I want to be true to myself. I feel closer to God in nature and when doing art than almost anywhere else. I feel that this is a gift that I should not take lightly. This is something that I want to pursue, engage, drive, and live in. A cool idea found in the book of Genesis (2:15) is the idea that we have been given the task of being stewards of creation. A steward in the Middle Ages was a caretaker, or a manager of a throne or Kingdom while the actual ruler could not be present or capable of being in control. Therefore, as stewards of this Earth, of creation, it is not just a good thing to be "green", but to take care of this planet, it is our responsibility to do so. If my art can help others be more aware of nature, respectful of it, involved in it, part of it, than I know that it really is my obligation to create the art that I do.
I want to continue to create art that celebrates the natural world, expresses environmental concerns and animal rights, shows my love for nature, and reminds people of our role as humans to take care of the planet we are a part of. To me, art is not just a hobby or something that I enjoy doing; art is something that I live to do, it is a part of me.
