Ian Sheldon | Taking Stock: New Collection of Works

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Ian Sheldon, "Big Evening Storm Colours"

oil on canvas, 60 x 72 in. Courtesy of the Gallery.

Taking Stock

There is something to be said for the twelve year cycle of the Chinese Zodiac. Now, for me, is a time of great upheaval in my calendar. Twelve years ago marked the beginning of a horrific period of change. First, my mother died. After dealing with the estate and finalizing everything overseas, I decided to take a break. A breather. To honour grief and just be. The very next day a best friend asked me to nurse him through his cancer until he died. I was there with him. And I had just caught my breath when my father died in France. More travel. More wills. More stuff. I got home and then my mother's partner of some 20 years died. And at the same time I had to kick my charge of five years out into the street knowing he would end up in a ward on suicide watch. I'm not looking for sympathy in this list of things. Such things come to us in the inevitable path of life. They are unavoidable. Into each life some rain must fall.

Now great change is upon me again. I've called this show Taking Stock. Because I am. I still have never given myself the time to honour grief. Life sucked me in deeper and deeper. And now I sit on the threshold of change and upheaval. I have called myself a Storm Chaser for many years. Margo, my wife, would much rather I became a rainbow chaser. But the rainbows only come after the storm. The last twelve years saw many challenges for us as a couple, including the loss of our son at birth. But then came the rainbow twins, our joyful, beautiful children who are now boldly stepping forth in their power at the age of two. Storms have passed, rainbows have shone. This time I trust the upheaval is a more positive one. We have sublet our business, found renters for our home, cancelled our daycare contract for the kids, packed up our stuff, sorted out our affairs and aligned them for us to get on a plane after this show and take time, and stock, in Mexico. Now is the time to reflect on life's storms that have passed, and find joy in the calm after. I have filled this collection with a lot of drama. But in each and every one I like to think there is a depiction of hope. And there's always that rainbow in the end. People often comment how calm my work is, yet the subject matter is far from it. And this to me is the beautiful paradox of my work: wild energetic subjects but painted in nature's calming palette of blues. Underneath each and every painting is a full spectrum rainbow of colour serving as the underpainting. Locked inside every scene lies a scattered rainbow. Into each life some rainbows will shine.

I've cleared out my studio as I embark on a journey to afford myself a break. This time, there will be only rainbows and nothing will get in the way of that breath.

Ian Sheldon is an award-winning, career artist internationally known for his diversity in both medium and subject. This diversity charts an interesting history marked by many career accolades along the way. With more than 20 years of professional representation in the arts, he is sure to have a lasting place in the art world and his work will undoubtedly stand the test of time.

Born in Edmonton, the artist spent formative years in South Africa, Singapore, England and France before graduating from Cambridge and moving back to Alberta in 1995. Sheldon's lifetime of travel shows its influences in the freedom of his art, while his surroundings provide constant inspiration for his ever-evolving artistic endeavours.

Artist Talk: Saturday, October 29, 2 PM to 3 PM: Stories from the original "Storm Chaser"

Ian Sheldon is an award-winning, career artist internationally known for his diversity in both medium and subject. GFA is pleased to present an artist talk with Ian where he will tell his story and relate how he came to be the storm-hungry landscape artist. Ian explains, “While the subject matter of many of my works is clearly dark and stormy, I cling to the joy and hope of brightness on the horizon, that amidst all the hardships that life has to throw there is still joy, a joy in the bright light of the sky. The sun always rises in the east.”