14 Nov 2023 – 20 Feb 2024
theDock Centre for Social Impact
300-722 Cormorant St, Victoria, BC
M-F 8:30am-5:00pm
Artist Statement:
I take joy in creating flights of fancy by juxtaposing reality with imagination.
I paint colourful scenes of nature and architecture with whimsical manga-style cats.
Observation is a key part of being a photojournalist and even though I no longer work in that field, I still find myself scanning locations for “shots”. Out of the hundreds of photos I take I choose settings that imaginary Cats would like to visit.
Real cats have been an almost constant part of my life for over 40 years, they come into my life in a number of ways and I am specifically touched by the ones that show up on the doorstep and stay with me for life.
Some cats though, need help to find homes and twice now I have welcomed cat adoption services to help bring a cat into my life.
I sincerely appreciate and value Cat’s Cradle Animal Rescue and their service to real life cats and the people who love them.
About the Artist:
I grew up in a small prairie town and I have always been drawn to new places. I love animals, nature, and architecture.
I wanted to be a cartoonist when I was a young man so I learned by copying artists and studying techniques from books. I attended college and received a Diploma in Broadcasting. During that time I published cartoons in the school newspaper.
After graduation I worked as a news camera operator/editor/still photographer. During my career in television, I worked on my artistic skills by taking numerous courses at institutions including the University of Alberta Faculty of Extension.
I moved to Vancouver Island in the summer of 2000 and have lived in a few different communities since then.
When I left the television broadcasting business I found more time to explore art and I started work on combining a realistic style of backgrounds with cartoon cats using acrylic paints.
I don’t like to waste things and I renovated a house in Union Bay BC that was built in 1916. I cut the shiplap into small sizes and use that for my small paintings.
