What brought you to Japan?
A lucky opportunity. Many years ago I had applied to work as a JET but at the same time
was offered a great job teaching art in a high school back home, so I stayed in Canada.
Years later this job in Hokkaido was posted at my school and so I took the plunge.
What do you do?
I' presently employed as an English teacher in Hokkaido. I'm basically "living out
in the country" so there is little distraction and I can focus on my painting.
What brings you to Tokyo?
I needed my fix of city life. I needed to find out more about Japanese culture and its
different aspects. I wanted to find out more about Japanese aesthetic and the simplicity
of design because I find it very intriguing. In Hokkaido, I don't really have a chance to
get too much Japanese culture, go to theatres, galleries, etc.
Who or what was your biggest influence?
Life experience is most significant. Of course in terms of studying art and art history, I
was drawn to the Romantics like Goya and Delacroix and the German Expressionists such as
Kandinski, Klee and Marc. I'm drawn to the energy I feel in their work. Camille Claudel
and Rodin also helped me realize the power of the figure to convey emotion.
What is art to you?
It is a form of expression and communication. To be truthful, it must come from personal
experience. I isolated myself for a while and stopped reading art magazines because I
didn't want the latest popular or avant-garde work that "critics" raved about to
influence my own vision. If I can connect with someone in my work - maybe through a shared
dream or experience - I can then feel satisfied.
What would you like to express though your art?
I wish to extend a positive message at this point. My work is harmonious. There is enough
dark and negativity around us that I feel no need to explore that area - it's not really
part of my own personal experience. I know that I am fortunate enough to never have lived
through a war or great personal distress to feel a need to paint it. Not like Munch, for
instance, though I really appreciate his work.
What are you working on now?
I'm working on kanji paintings. It is a fascinating project: to bring new life into a
character that may be 3000 years old. I've already had an exhibition with this series in
Obihiro and was pleased to see the reaction from the Japanese. Because kanji is such an
everyday symbol - painting it with color, brush and texture - has allowed me to convey
further meaning. Something like a picture is worth a thousand words. So though I still
can't speak Japanese, my vocabulary has grown in another way. I'll be having another
exhibition of this series in Sapporo July 10 at the Cafe Bauhaus.
What do you like about Japan most?
The initial aesthetic, simplicity of the lines, traditional architecture. There's a
calming effect here.
What's the weirdest thing you've ever seen or experienced in Japan?
Men in the office cleaning out their nasal passages in public. Just gross. Also, how
everyone wears those white masks when they're sick - it's like being in some weird virus
war zone, as if that mask will stop the virus from spreading! Stay home if you're sick, I
say.
If you could take one thing back from Japan to your native country, what would it
be?
Tons of washi paper in all sorts of textures. It's so beautiful and luminous.
What's your recipe for a happy and successful life in Japan?
Even though Japan is very Westernized, you have to realize that you are in another
culture. Don't let the little things get to you. And learn Japanese!
Occupation:
LIFE IN JAPAN: