Darrell Bell's Lake Paintings

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Darrell Bell, "Gloaming," 2018

oil on canvas, 24" x 36"

Darrell Bell is a busy guy. 

As the owner of the Darrell Bell Gallery in Saskatoon, there’s always plenty to do, whether meeting clients, installing shows or heading to art fairs. But Bell is also a landscape painter, squeezing in studio time where he can.

His latest exhibition, Lake Paintings, on view until Oct. 6, features works he made this summer at four lakes north of Saskatoon – Emma, Christopher, Waskesiu and Anglin.

For the first time in many years, Bell has given himself extended time to paint, spending several days a week at a rented cottage, then driving two hours back to town to tend to business.

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Darrell Bell, "Pink Light (End of the Lake)," 2018

oil on canvas, 36" x 48"

Slowing down and focusing on his art away from the bustle of the city, he noticed a shift. Unlike earlier series, which often feature views of water from the land, these latest paintings reflect time spent out on the water at sunset. 

They look back to shore, foregrounding the lake, often in striking colour, with equally dramatic skies. And, of course, there's the mirroring of the land in the water. “It’s all about the atmosphere and the stillness,” says Bell. “And the reflected bank in water.”

Although he has painted landscapes for decades, Bell says his work is process oriented and experimental, reflecting the training he received at the University of Saskatchewan back in the ’70s.

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Darrell Bell, "Last Light," 2018

oil on canvas, 20" x 40"

He had his first shows in the early ’80s and decided to open a gallery when both a commercial space and an artist co-op closed, leaving many Saskatoon artists without a place to show their work. He was just 23. 

He knew nothing about the gallery business, but thought it would be fun. Is it? “Oh, God, yeah,” he replies, talking about the art he has seen and the artists he’s helped launch, including people like Zachari Logan, Clint Neufeld and Wally Dion. In recent years, he has worked to shift the gallery's regional focus and make it part of the larger national scene.

Bell has juggled making art and selling art for decades. But now, at 59, he wants to spend more time in his studio. Painting, he says, is essential to him. “I’m not a happy boy if I can’t.”  ■

Lake Paintings is on view at the Darrell Bell Gallery in Saskatoon from Sept. 13 to Oct. 6, 2018.