Will McGarvey Art

Please note: Will McGarvey Art's website is under construction.

About The Artist

Will McGarvey was born in Orillia, Ontario, and graduated from York University with a BFA in Visual Arts. Educated in painting, sculpture, and photography, he uses these materials as best suited to his ideas. Will is keenly interested in the creative process and the materials used during this process. For Will, the lack of boundaries in art exploration provides continual evolution and joy of creation.

Abstract

My time in art school was the mid to late 1970s and our teachings included a wealth of art history. The departure from art representing the world around us to exploring the realization that art was an object in itself was always engaging to me. The rapid style shifts through the late nineteen and twentieth centuries, all those isms from Impression, Cube, Dada and the continual progress of creating unique stylistic language can be overwhelming. The pace of change however keeps art fresh and exploratory and engaging. The late 1970s was in art as in science, the data bytes of ones and zeros were the Minimalist and Conceptual Art evolution of art. Break down to the elements and then see what you can do with them. That is the place where I pull elements from and love to work where it is uncomfortable and new rather than repetition of a successful style.

Painting Shown: Cheery Blossom Life on Wonderland Avenue Polyptch (60 x 192 O/C)

Landscape

The next group of paintings is about the land and places that I find give me a counterbalance to the pressures of the world around me. I love to paint for the pleasure of using the craft involved in painting to show my love of this wonderland we live in. The land is the balm for life’s pressures. Watching a sunrise or walk through a silent forest or paint the architecture of a community is a release. Painting the beauty around us is a way to humanize our existence. Applying the elements of design and aesthetics as a path to a style is a reward in itself. Transforming feelings into formal organization and relationships that make creating new objects pleasing is a joy.

Painting Shown: Storm Approaching Lake Temagami

Narrative

I create narrative pieces to reflect on the world around me, perhaps as the son of a journalist I reflect on the events that occur during my time. This can range from the simple and personal to the larger shared experience confronting politics, the environment or other things of interest to me. I love to explore ideas using story telling and metaphor. There can be a risk of being too political or preachy, but I feel that art needs to be used as a voice, the soft weapon of the artist.

Painting Shown: Untitled