Charlie Easton | Driven to Paint

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Charlie Easton, “Sky Fade Above the Peaks,” no date

acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 in (courtesy of the Gallery)

Opening Reception: Saturday, April 5th, 3 to 6PM, with an engaging artist talk at 4PM

For Charlie Easton, painting is more than a practice—it’s a compulsion, an obsession, a deep-seated need to translate the world into color and shape. His artistic drive is fuelled by the challenge of storytelling: what is this place saying to me, and how can I capture that feeling on canvas? 

Easton's works almost always start en plein air, with an immersion in the raw experience of the landscape. He hikes ridgelines, navigating the shifting balance of rock and sky, absorbing the way shapes lean and light dances. He sets up his easel in the heart of downtown Vancouver on a frigid, turquoise-lit morning, watching the glow of glass towers refract the crisp winter air. Each scene speaks to him, demanding to be painted—not just as it appears, but as it feels.

The creative challenge that compels him—turning three dimensions into two, distilling space, movement, and atmosphere into bold shapes and color—is what makes his work unique. It’s not about simply recording a place; it’s about understanding it, responding to it, and staying true to the moment of inspiration. His process begins with feeling, and only then does technique follow.

In Driven to Paint, Easton’s urgency to create is palpable. His brushstrokes carry the energy of the outdoors, the immediacy of observation, and the authenticity of an artist who cannot look at the world without asking, how will I paint this? Each piece in this collection is a direct response to that question—an exploration of balance, light, and movement, told in his unmistakable visual language.

To paint is not a choice. It’s a necessity.