Gary Haggquist

Bio

“The natural world has always been my wellspring of inspiration. Memories of exploring the forests of my youth can still flood my senses with the sounds and smells of those wild places on the edge of suburbia. Like others raised in this environment, however, traveling down the intersecting avenues and returning to the comfort of my home every night, the wild remained very much “other worldly”.  It was a longing to find a deeper connection with the natural world that later took me, through job experiences and personal trips, to many remote areas of B.C. and Manitoba. These years after art school were ones of soul searching, of gathering experience on the path to finding my voice as an artist.”

“My restless spirit never allows me to linger in one artistic space too long but urges me onward to explore new ground. Although not necessarily in sequence, several series of paintings appear, in time forming a continuum of shared intent. This is the path my work has always taken. I can recall the words of one of my art school professors upon viewing a collection of my student work, ”It looks like ten different people did these“. For a time I wondered whether my hybrid nature and unwillingness to stick to a “signature style” was a weakness. Over time however, I’ve come to accept it as my true nature and today regard it as one of my biggest strengths. One of the most frequently re-occuring themes in my landscape painting has been water. Always a difficult subject, waters illusive qualities constantly challenge my abilities as an artist. One of my latest paintings “Big River Glow” was inspired by the nearby Fraser River. As the major artery of this part of the world it plays an important role in the life of all who live near it. My favourite way to portray water is to position the viewer directly over the flow as if they are on a bridge or hovering above it. The water appears then to flow right through the viewer, engaging them head on and enhancing the notion of water as a powerful metaphor for life itself.”