More Than Blue
Kathy Chan
Some of my earliest childhood memories are situated on the vibrant and bustling streets of Vancouver’s Chinatown during the 1980s. So it is no wonder that when I gaze at the numerous paintings of David Wilson that illustrate specific landmarks in Chinatown, I am plagued with a heavy wave of nostalgia. David and his fascination with the nocturnal urban landscapes of the city brings together a collection of his latest and finest work, fixated on some of the darkest and most isolated neighbourhoods in Vancouver. Last month, from Thursday, October 4th to Saturday, October 27th, local artist David Wilson revealed his newest exhibit, More Than Blue, at the Atelier Gallery. David generously donated some time from his hectic schedule to sit down for some questions.
GLOSS: Tell us about the Atelier Gallery and about your upcoming exhibition, More Than Blue.
David: The gallery is located on 2421Granville Street, and my relationship with the gallery began about ten years ago. A fellow that owns the gallery, we used to have a gallery, or rather we used to share a wall with the gallery that he owns [the Atelier Gallery] and the John Ramsay gallery right beside it. John represented me about ten years ago for a few years; then he left the business. I think it was last year he came back into the business, and I wasn’t represented by anyone at the time, and I was starting to look for a gallery to represent my work. And it was about this time that John bought this gallery [Atelier], so we just picked up from where we left off. John is a really good person to work with. He’s super-honest, super-trustworthy, very supportive.
The exhibit will allow the viewer to see a lot of scenes of Vancouver, but especially at night. There will be a lot of rainy streets and dry streets, but they will all be [at] dusk or night. There are a few with some blue skies. For the most part, they are dark skies, and initially when people hear of that, they think, “Oh, Vancouver and the rain. Sick of that, already.” It’s interesting to see what people’s responses [are] because they are always really surprised at how much they connect with the work, and I think it causes people to think differently about where they live. There are lots of reflection and points of light, along with lots of bright colours that you don’t really see during the day.
GLOSS: How many paintings will be showcased at the gallery?
David: I’m trying to think, I keep losing track. I’m guessing — I think around 25 to 28 paintings I’ll have there. I think that’s about right.
GLOSS: You took some classes at Emily Carr [Institute]. Do you think the knowledge and skills obtained from a formal institution are applicable to your art now?
David: I think that there is instruction provided from the school that is great. But I think that what I took away from it was the creative aspect of art — learning to use your creative skills as opposed to teaching you how to paint. I think most of my painting skills have just come through trial and error. I’m primarily self-taught. I didn’t take that many classes at Emily Carr. I took some selected courses. There were, however, some really great instructors who taught me how to think outside the box.
GLOSS: A lot of your work is focused on the night. I think you mentioned that it might be a sign of the uncertainty in the world today?
David: Darkness is always suggestive of the unsettled nature of the night. If you look at science fiction films, they are always filmed at night, full of darkness, and all these things jump out [from] the dark at you, and I think that the night sort of implies some of that. And I think what’s behind the corner or shadows is a bit of a representation of a form of chaos, or rather something a little scary perhaps, something unknown.
GLOSS: Do you think you’ll ever paint pieces in daylight that still represent the underlying themes of the uncertainty that darkness implies?
David: Yes, I think so. There’s always things like that … lingering at the back of my mind, and I’ll get there eventually. But right now, this is where I’m at. I think to move beyond what I’m doing here and where I want to go is just about developing skill sets. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and it just takes me a while to move from one place to another.
GLOSS: What is your creative process, from start to finish?
David: Usually I always go out with a camera at night. Either here, or [New York City], or wherever I am, and whether it is raining or not doesn’t matter. I’ll go out and take some photographs. When I get back to the studio, I’ll mask the photos, and what that does is help me determine what it was that initially drew me to the subject matter in the photograph. I’m not a photographer, and what I try to do is mask, and I’ll just use these photos to find the composition that I was initially drawn to. And then I’ll start to draw it out on canvas. I’ll paint the canvas black, draw it out with a white chalk, and I’ll just start painting. The photograph is not the mark for the canvas; I rely a lot on my memory.
GLOSS: Would you say that for each of your paintings, you have your own personal story that is represented in the painting?
David: Yes, I like to think so. I don’t paint images that aren’t of interest to me, and sometimes I just have to sit back and think about what it was that initially drew me to the image. I enjoy including elements of myself [in] the painting that are significant to me and no one else. I like not telling people. And I think perhaps that’s why it works, because I’m putting a part of myself in it that other people can also connect and place themselves to.
GLOSS: How do you know when a painting is finished?
David: I generally just know when a painting is finished. I know it sounds so ridiculously easy, but a lot of it just comes with experience and [from] painting so often that you develop a sense of when it is completed. The most important thing is to know when your painting is not completed, rather than when it is.
GLOSS: What do you think is the most challenging aspect of being an artist?
David: The most challenging aspect of it is to be able to do it and not starve. The poverty-stricken artist is a great myth — or not myth, but rather a romantic notion that is way overrated. It just sucks, because you’re an artist and you really want to create work, but you sacrifice a lot. I sacrificed a lot of time and income to this process. But I’m fortunate now because it’s paying off and I can make a living. So many artists struggle in obscurity and [don’t] make any money out of it. It is really tough, and it takes a long time — for some, not all.
GLOSS: Moving forward, do you have any ideas for upcoming future projects?
David: I am interested in sculpture. Sculpture is a really interesting medium, but it’s so vastly different from what I’m doing now, so I don’t know if I have the time to develop the skills fully. And we talked about the daylight, so I might work with daylight again, abstracting my work a little bit more.
GLOSS: What do you hope each individual takes away from your paintings?
David: That’s a good question; let me think about that for a minute. I mean, personally, I connect with the paintings. I think that I just want people to connect with the moment that is there, represented.
Visit www.davidwilson.ca to see the rest of David Wilson’s portfolio. Or just take a stroll through Vancouver’s Chinatown and the Downtown Eastside on a rainy night. Don’t forget the umbrella.
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