Paul Chester

Paul Chester studied painting and sculpture at the Ontario College of Art (OCA), graduating in 1992. His work has been exhibited at The Latcham Gallery, The Station Gallery, The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Edward Day Gallery, and in various other public and private galleries across Canada including Toronto, Vancouver, St. John, Halifax, Ottawa, Peterborough, Edmonton, Montreal, and Whistler. Chester has also shown his work in the United States in Minneapolis, Boston, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles as well as in London, UK. Born in Toronto, Chester now works out of his studio in a quiet, rural area of southeastern Ontario.
 
"My paintings are an emotional response to what I see in the natural landscape in the area that surrounds my home and studio, near Peterborough, Ontario. Somewhat ethereal in nature, images are painted mostly from memory, reflecting the experience of that moment.
 
I paint contemporary oil and acrylic landscapes, building up the surfaces on canvas or wood panels with layers of paint and glazes, using a combination of brush and painting knifes to achieve an overall luminosity. I often scrape and scratch the surface, cutting into the paint to reveal the colours beneath. My subject matters are found in the natural world that I see from a walk or simply driving past peaceful places and retreats – country fields, flowers, rolling hills, forests, horizons, cloud formations, and waterscapes.
 
Painting for me is a poetic expression, a meditative state of mind, rather than a photographic copy of nature. They are my visual diaries celebrating the beauty and peace found in nature."