David More: Hidden Within

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David More, "Hidden Within," 2019

David More: Hidden Within

Opening reception: Saturday, October 26. 1-4pm

More's vibrant, gestural and generous use of paint lend themselves to his exploration of the layers that make up landscape. There is a luminosity that we have come to expect when viewing More's work and his acute observation and use of under painting capture subtleties in nature that make his paintings glow, a history that lives beneath the final image. The Edge Gallery Calgary is happy to present an exhibition of David More, as well as congratulate him on his simultaneous exhibition A Painter's Gift at The Red Deer Museum.

In the artist's own words:

Yes, I’m one of those annoying people who likes to stop and read historic plaques while on a walk. If I’m with a group they soon get fed up and go on ahead. It’s just that I’m curious about what has come before and what lies underneath. With painting it’s the same. Wandering in the landscape, something makes me halt and take notice. I want to know why. What has caught my attention? What is beneath this feeling? I devote a great deal of attention to planning the underpainting of my images, no matter how large or small. For large canvases there is usually a full colour study done in watercolour or mixed media. I study the surface hues and explore underpaint options for evoking their most expressive natures. The underpainting is my sign post. When the actual painting begins I know where I want to go and am free to express the very nature of paint itself, with its infinite possibilities.

One of the most important things in my painting process is to keep evaluating the visual effects of the image as I work. Whether in the landscape or studio it’s the same: put down a couple of strokes of paint and step back eight or ten paces. How does that mark and its colour play off the underpaint? A lot of the underpaint remains visible in the finished work. Does it optically vibrate or blend... how does it sit in space? I walk a lot. In painting a 12 by 12 inch oil sketch for three hours the phone in my pocket told me I had made 8400 steps. I had to laugh. Who said one can’t combine painting with exercise?

The key to it all is letting the upper surface colours and those that lie beneath create a new and unforeseen energy, one that constantly surprises. Sometimes the paint becomes very thick, very layered. If you look up close at any of my images you will often find the most intense colours are not on top of the surface but at the very bottom. Much like the historic plaques that describe the hidden elements underneath us as we pass by, the underpaint helps me understand where an image comes from and might be going. - David More