painting
e:
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
w: http://www.blacktulippress.com/Keath_Lengle_Gallery.html
Lengle Gallery
p: 780.340.6870
TU Gallery
10718 - 124 Street
Edmonton, AB
Why did you get into the industry?
I guess it’s not so much a choice I feel I made, but rather a calling that chose me. Painting has become an expression of my inner voice and outlook. The process is everything to me; while I am fully immersed in my work, it feels as if time is standing still. A gap is created – I have no thoughts of the past, no attachment to the future; the present moment is all there is. A product is inevitable but not the primary focus of the work – as much as I may have a vision of the end result, it’s not about the end result, it’s about the journey that gets me there.
Did you have a mentor? Who and/or what inspired you as an artist?
While attending Grant MacEwan College in 1989, I had the privilege of being taught by Phil Mann, an instructor in drawing and painting. In addition to having an amazing technical knowledge of painting, Phil had a gift of always finding potential in every piece I created. He encouraged me to keep going, follow through, dig deeper, but he also cared about me as a person.
I continued my education at the University of Alberta where I received my BFA degree in painting. There I was exposed to a variety of teaching styles and approaches. My instructors were Doug Haines, David Cantine, Bob Sinclair, and once again Phil Mann. There were also instructors who actually discouraged me, one in particular who suggested I go into industrial design, but this only made me more determined to commit to my painting. Now that I’m teaching, I tell my students there is no such thing as a mistake on the canvas, only choices and opportunities to learn more. I’m giving them the tools so that they can make more conscious choices.
I’m also inspired by the Masters. Going to Europe was an eye-opener for me because I experienced great works firsthand, something I didn’t get to experience until I had completed my studies. The Louvre, the Rijksmuseum, and the Prado are some of the museums that have made an impression on me. Rubens, Caravaggio, de Ribera, Velasquez, and Turner are a few of the painters whose work moves me to tears. Sometimes I think I was born in the wrong century, though I also appreciate the abstract works of Kandinsky and Miro.
The environments I encounter also provide subject matter for my compositions. I paint from photographs I have taken of architecture and people. For instance, my doorway paintings were based on historical sites in the Cathar region of south-central France. I was fascinated not only by the sites and ruins, but also by the history of this persecuted group. The abbeys, churches, and castles in the region all tell the story of people long gone, reminding me of the preciousness and impermanence of life.
My pear still-lifes personify a simple object and are a metaphor for relationship. For instance, I painted two pears on a mud cloth and this reminded me of people meeting on an African plain – encountering each other for the first time. Another pear had a bite out of it, which again hinted at life’s impermanence, but also at the nourishment that it offers in the present moment. Many people seem to resonate with the image of the pears, perhaps because they are biomorphic – objects resembling the human form and therefore something people want to engage with.
Sometimes it’s even easier for viewers to identify themselves with an object rather than with a literal image of themselves. I find the portraits I paint often resonate strongly with family members of the subject, but that he or she may find it hard to see themselves on the canvas. In fact I’ve painted less body fat on a person’s face than is actually there. Still portraits are always received with mixed feelings. You could say, portraits are confrontational – in part because they are an interpretation but also because we’re literally faced with ourselves and the preconceived notions we have about ourselves and how we look.
A few years ago I built a house in Valemount, BC with my father and a friend, because I love the mountains. It’s offered me another environment to paint and a place to retreat to away from phones and traffic. The pieces I’ve painted there reflect the faces of the mountains as they change depending on the light and season.
What else can you tell us about your process?
While I’m painting, I listen to artists like Peter Gabriel, Philip Glass, James Newton Howard, and Vangelis. My mind settles in a place of peace and wonder, inviting me to allow the process to begin. But a word of caution to other artists who might try this at home: don’t let yourself get delayed and distracted by your iTunes library! (This is a true vice of procrastination for me.)
What have been your challenges, if any?
I think for me marketing my work is a challenge; I know it is for many other artists as well. The work itself is the true reward, so to seek remuneration almost seems redundant, even though it’s so necessary to be able to keep doing what I love. I don’t believe in the stereotype of the starving artist and I don’t want to be one myself; that’s why lately I’ve put more conscious effort into exposing my work (while also keeping the night job).
What else does painting offer you?
Art making is also an opportunity to heal. I’ve painted my way through various transitions. When I was in my twenties, I felt life was closing in on me and working with the paint helped me to reach out and communicate what was in my heart. More recently my work helped ground me as I navigated a divorce, which turned out to be a positive transition for me and my ex-spouse. Her medium is poetry, while I find my solace on the canvas – regardless of the form we choose, in the creative process we find truth, especially when we’re challenged in the areas that can hurt us most.
Anything else readers should know about?
Everyone has a unique voice in this world; by expressing mine, I’m trying to have a dialogue and reach the viewer, but I want them to bring their feelings and experiences to the work. What I show on the canvas is an invitation for them to get in touch with their inner world.
The things that we are drawn to and touch us – whether they are images, experiences, or natural or man-made objects – can act as catalysts for insight. For me as an artist, all those subjects are potential fuel or fertile ground for exploring or cultivating inner growth. By painting the ‘outer,’ we connect to the ‘inner.’ I trust that everything I am and need is available to me in the present moment, void of attachment. I just have to stay out of my own way and get to work.
If you wish to view or purchase my work, please google: Keath Lengle Gallery or visit the TU Gallery 10718 - 124 Street in Edmonton.