Darryl Funk
Artist’s Statement
It is no surprise when viewing my work that Canadian artist Lawren Harris has been a huge influence. As a child, when I saw his work for the first time, I knew there was something special about it, something I wanted to achieve on my own as I grew as an artist. I came to realize what it was: he was a master of light. He was able to abstract a landscape further and further into geometric form while using light to create depth, form and mood. His work was progressively spiritual and he used light to express a quest for oneness with the universe.
A photographer literally uses light to create an image, freezing a moment in time. They are able to manipulate the light to some degree but are always bound by physics. A painter on the other hand, can use colour to create light and be unbound by physics. One thing I learned from admiring the work of Harris was as an artist, you are the master of light. While it's true if not done correctly you lose the illusion of depth and reality, but you can tweak it to your desire; a simple highlight here or shadow there to draw the eye further in to the work regardless of any light source you may have imagined.
While I've often painted abstract landscapes of real places, my greatest love is to create imagined landscapes, and I have been doing this since I was a child. As I was often ill as a child, I would draw rolling hills dotted with trees and shrubs as it gave me a sense of peace; it was my world to do with as I pleased. I ended up being diagnosed with a rare auto-immune disease at the end of my teens, and this illness has been a constant presence all these years often restricting my activities. It is therefore no surprise that I continue to imagine these landscapes using light to convey my moods. Jagged, rocky peaks covered in ice and snow relating the constant struggle, but covered in warm yellow sunlight as a means of hope and inspiration; a pathway leading into a garden of trees and hedges, feeling the warmth of the sunlight as you meander aimlessly within, getting lost in your thoughts even if only for a few moments.
The Garden
16x30
Cobra Oil on Canvas
2021
$680 CAD unframed (shipping not included)
Season’s End
Crowsnest Highway
36x48
Cobra Oil on canvas
2021
$1925 CAD unframed (shipping not included)
Blue in Green
30.25x30.25
Cobra Oil on canvas
2021
$1100 CAD unframed (shipping not included)