ARTIST'S STATEMENT

I have been drawing and painting most of my life. Sometimes seven or eight paintings in one year and other years may only see one or two completed. It seems to take me several years to actually commence a painting after I come up with a concept or have seen a particular scene that I want to paint.

Up until the early 90's I used acrylic paint and painted on masonite panels which I cut from 4x8 sheets and prepared with five or six coats of gesso. Most of my subject matter consisted of birds, due to my bird watching interests at the time. I still enjoy birding, but my work has taken a turn and I have opened up the door to most any subject, although I have recently concentrated on the great love I have for Georgian Bay.

I now paint with oils on canvas that I stretch over 3/4 inch birch plywood and prepare with three coats of gesso and one of white paint. This makes for a hard smooth backer across the entire canvas surface, which I find necessary when doing some of the fine detail that I seem to be consumed with at times. The need for 3/4" birch ply is so there will be no warpping of my larger paintings. Unfortunately, this extra weight means you have to be in good phisical shape or recruit a friend to help you hang one.

I am an avid sailor and spend most of my summers on my sail boat exploring the waters of Georgian Bay. This allows endless hours of time to experience the many aspects of beauty that "The Bay" has to offer and gives me an opportunity to gather reference material for my paintings.

The vast, ever changing skies, long horizons, strong winds and the many faces of the water never cease to humble me. I can't describe this feeling of insignificance I have, but in some small way I hope to pass it on to the viewer of my work. Whether it is a small charcoal drawing of a lighthouse window, a still life of feathers in a bottle or a large painting of sky, wind and water, I need to look at beauty with respectful eyes.

Thank you for your interest, Gord

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