Two works of Peter Harris’ can be seen above. (Peter Harris/peterharris.ca) To Peter Harris, the heart of Canadian beauty extends past mountain ranges, rugged coasts, and sprawling prairies – when asked to define the quintessential Canadian landscape, his mind’s eye veers away from familiar regions like Lake Louise or Peggy’s Cove. Instead, the Ontario-born oil painter draws inspiration from urban settings others may deem mundane or fail to notice altogether. “I’m an urban person,” Harris told CTV News Toronto from a temporary studio in Spain Friday. “I love the city. That’s what gets me excited.” His art reflects that sentiment – his hyper-realistic paintings depict TTC stations, dimly-lit parking lots, gas pumps, local restaurants, and just about anything a city-dweller may encounter on a daily commute. Very rarely do the finished products feature any natural lighting, with car headlights, neon signs, or fluorescent overheads guiding the viewer’s eye. “The challenge is to take something really banal, like an escalator in a subway station, and make it into an interesting painting,” Harris said. The art of painting landscapes was passed on to Harris during childhood visits with his grandmother. “She would set up the dining room table with her watercolor […]
CamTrader offers a preview only. View original article. www.iheartradio.ca
