Riverdale (a painting Series)
In the early 1990’s I did a series of paintings of the Riverdale community, in Edmonton’s river valley.
“Tree Frog Press”, acrylic on hardboard, 30 by 41 cm, 1991
“Bird Bath”, acrylic on canvas, 61 by 51 cm, 1992
One of the most distinguishing features of the community at the time was the large, undeveloped tract of land that belonged to the historic Little Brick factory, By the end of the decade those fields would be redeveloped to look like suburbia, but at the time it lent a rural charm to this area, just a kilometer from downtown.
“Old Brickyard Field”, acrylic on canvas, 51 by 61 cm, 1992
“Old Brickyard Road” acrylic on canvas, 51 by 61 cm, 1992
“The Little Brick House”, acrylic on hardboard, 28 by 36 cm, 1991
“The Rink Shack”, acrylic on canvas, 51 by 61 cm, 1992
“Sun on 92nd Street”, acrylic on hardboard, 36 by 38 cm, c. 1992
A decade and half later I would revisit this series with a few more paintings of the community:
“Summer Morning on 91st Street”, oil on hardboard, 51 by 61 cm, 2008
“Riverdale Garage (winter sunlight)”, oil on canvas, 41 by 51 cm, 2008
Urban Dreammares
Even when out walking about taking photos I like to mix things up. I might shoot images that I think have the form to work well as black and white and then I will shift gears, drop my shutter speed way down and generate some camera motion abstracts.
Here are a selection of photos from my recent photoshoot in Calgary, where I abstracted images in the downtown area. There is a suggestion of the hard lines of urban forms but they are softened and there is a sense of familiarity but you can’t quite focus and identify the forms.
City in Motion
Hanging
Between
Passage
Alley
Urban Orange
A little photo series that I shot today (2015 February 23) in Edmonton.
Rising from the Orange
Gravel Remembrance
Up
Expression Orange
Evening Orange
William Wray – Urban Landscape Painter
With this, I am starting a new series of blog posts to point my readers to artists I know and respect. Many of the artist’s I currently follow are part of the twitter community and may well be known to each other and to you. There are a few artists that I came to know from before twitter (yes there was a time) – particularly from the WetCanvas on-line community and this artist is one of those.
The artist to introduce you to is California painter William Wray. He often paints what I would describe as gritty, urban landscapes. It is not uncommon to see industrial factories, gas stations or downtown canyons. He has also made compelling works with car, trains and shopping carts as the subjects. Wray’s unique style is also applied to some still life and figure painting.
His subject matter often makes his work distinctive but so is masterful use of color, light and shadow. Words can’t really do justice so please visit his website and his blog to see his works and to learn more about him.
Be sure to also look for the links to a couple of books he has of his paintings.
The Beauty That’s There for the Taking
This week my eye was drawn back to abstract shapes and compositions in the urban environment:
Here are a few of my photos from downtown Edmonton:
Blue Sky Corner
Shades of Blue
Commerce Place Entrance
Gold Block on an Inclined Plane
Sky-high Gridlock
I never cease to be amazed at the beauty that can be seen if we just slow down enough to look at what is around us.
Randall Talbot - Artist 