David Grieve
Along the Way
colours and textures of Ontario
July 31 to September 7
David Grieve has been painting with oils for most of his life. He was first introduced to the medium by his mother. Together, they attended a Wednesday afternoon painting group in St. George, Ontario beginning when David was just age 7. He fondly remembers his first introduction to oils, particularly the slow drying quality of the paint and the intoxicating aroma in the studio.
While attending the University of Guelph, David was eager to explore a variety of media, but found it difficult to get the brush out of his hand. He was the recipient of the Micheal Scotchmere Scholarship and had his first solo exhibition while in Guelph.
David has explored themes of time and aging in still life and now has carried over these explorations into landscape. David often finds himself lost trying to navigate a route towards a destination. He takes photos “along the way” and then uses these images to produce his painitngs. With a multi-layered technique, he applies thick swaths of paint creating a translation of these moments. He loves the feeling of being lost in the texture of the paint. After many years of painting, David has developed a unique, distinctive style. His paintings have been showcased in commercial as well as public galleries across Canada and the U.S.A.
In 2007 David was commissioned to create a collection of paintings to be showcased at the Lavell Corporate headquarters in Reston, Virginia. These paintings range from a Lake Erie view off the pier at Port Dover, to the varied colours and patterns of the fields that surround his southern Ontario home. The work pushes the boundaries between abstract and representation. At times, the only reference to landscape is the horizon line, which becomes obscured in “Erie Surface”, then lost in others like “White Water” and “Maple Leaves”.
The collection consists of 10 paintings, and is centred around the large, fifteen foot painting in the board room entitled “Soya Field MCW”. The wood, canvas and metal used in the creation of this piece symbolizes the merging of technologies so vital to the Lavell business strategy.
The collection will be installed upon completion of the Lavell office renovations, slated for fall 2008.
Together with his wife and three sons, David divides his time between their home/studio in Brantford, Ontario and the family cabin on Jack Lake in North Kawartha.
The Art Centre is at the threshold of an exciting new chapter, and we invite you to take the next step with us! As both our organization and the communities we serve grow, we need to address some of the physical constraints of our two galleries and classroom, to help break down barriers to participation in the arts.