Artist: John Kinsella
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 24''x 30''

Bidding on this artwork will take place at the Live Auction event, Friday, April 4. Tickets available at the link at dvsa.ca. Absentee bids can also be placed in advance – request a form at the school office or email bid@dvsa.ca.

About This Piece
In the summer, my family and I love to spend time up north at my brother’s cottage on Big Gull Lake. When we are out fishing, I am awestruck by the many small islands that populate Big Gull Lake (or many of the lakes up north). They are a sanctuary for flora and fauna – fish, nesting birds, snakes, wildflowers and the resilient pine, grasping for dear life to the sheer rock surface. I see these pine trees as a symbol for the resilience and tenacity of the lifeforce in all living things.

Artist Statement
I am inspired by the beauty and power of my home province, Ontario. In my paintings, I strive to convey the emotional, sacred, dramatic and sublime essence of nature, and celebrate the interconnected aspects of the natural world. I encourage everyone to take our place as an equal partner in nature. We are nature.

As a landscape painter, I respectfully acknowledge that the land upon which I work is the traditional and treaty territory of many Indigenous Nations and communities. I am grateful to the people, current and historic, for their stewardship of this beautiful land.

The past 15 years of painting and studying the landscape of Southern Ontario has given me a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of the natural world and a respect for all the elements that make it work. I witness the changes in the environment, both subtle and dynamic, from season to season throughout the course of the year. In my paintings I aspire to capture the energy of these changes and convey the spirit and poetry of place.

Biography
John Kinsella is a painter born in Hamilton, Ontario. He studied Art and Art History at McMaster University (1982-1987), and fine art in the Val de Loire, France in 1985. 

Kinsella’s work has been featured in many solo and group exhibitions in Algonquin Park, Hamilton, Dundas, Grimsby, Owen Sound, Huntsville, Toronto and Barcelona, Spain.

Recent online exhibitions include The Toronto Outdoor Art Fair 2021 and McMichael Volunteer Committee Online Autumn Artisan Market 2021.    Kinsella lives and works in Toronto, Ontario .