Ah, yes, paintings of boats, the ocean, the sun setting over a wharf. Blissful? Serene? Peaceful?
No, sounds about as cliché and dull as the rest of your grandma’s goddamn décor.
But paintings of boats don’t have to be cheeseball. Tony Grove’s exhibition A Boatbuilder’s Perspective, being shown at Dales Gallery, shows the Gabriola Island-based artist/boatbuilder/furniture builder (yup) has a different take on a familiar concept.
“The subject in my artwork focuses on boats because, as a boat builder, I’m around them all the time and don’t get tired of looking at them,” he says. “That, and a little romance thrown in. But saying that, I don’t do traditional seascapes, or imagery that is trying to depict a historic moment.”
For Grove, the painting process is all about exploring atmospheres via colour, experimenting with erotica by way of wood. Uh… well, kinda, on that last point.
“My interest is in the sensual shape of the hulls out of the water and how the light plays with that shape as the sun moves across the sky,” he says. “I also love taking artistic license by emphasizing the colour of the wood and the moods of the seen.”
And if it seems like perhaps paintings of boats aren’t exactly what most college students are interested in, Grove’s experience proves otherwise. People of all ages love his work… some even going so far as to nab copies of it in a most unlawful way.
“When I started painting boats I did them for myself first,” he says. “Then, when one image was used for a boat-show poster, people were stealing the posters for the art. I realized I’d found a style that was appealing to not just me, but to many. Over the years I’ve found my clients have been men and women, young and old, and of all types.”
A Boatbuilder’s Perspective
Until June 30
Dales Gallery
tonygrove.com