2010
Vancouver is the city I have loved living in for over 30 years. It never ceases to amaze with it’s intrinsic beauty and on-going development.
“2010” is a collection of paintings of various landmarks in, and around Vancouver. Some are famous and immediately recognizable, others are not so well known. With hundreds of different vantage points and vistas to choose, the key was selecting images into a cohesive collection that would read as not only my paintings, but as a love story for Vancouver in 2010.
Introducing a fractal quality to the work is a crucial element to this genre of painting. Taking the image and making it my own was a new and exciting vocabulary in painting. Never being shy about colour, the approach was to relax everything and let it have a it’s own voice and organic shape.
Having visited the Japanese Garden in Seattle and finding Koi Fish in a pond, delivered the jewel-tone colour needed to communicate. Infusing Koi fish into the paintings, like soaring kites, gives the piece a whimsical and unique juxtaposition.
While painting this collection, Vancouver was about to host the world for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. I have personally never been more excited or proud of a city that was once perceived as a sleepy West Coast fishing village. For me this has always just been home.