K. Neil Swanson works

The Stories of K.Neil Swanson's  paintings

Shadows: I grew up in northern Sask, a land of many large lakes and tangles forests. When I was nine, I saw an elk track in the forest floor. I was constantly drawing, so in my little brown sketch book, I scratched out an elk print. But instead of creating a realistic elk, I instead drew a mere shadow of it, emerging out of the track. Out of the came the ‘shadow drawings’ which are the foundation of my paintings.

The Red Earth: I liked storms a lot. At about ten years of age I was out in the rain and it was streaming down on me like falling arrows. I looked down at my feet at the rock I was standing on top of. It must have had some iron in it as it began to turn a distinctive rusty red color. It was as if the heavens were raining cosmic energy on the red earth.

This became important symbolism in all my work.

Skies: I call many of my skies “Eagle Skies”

The circular movement in the clouds are important to me, as they reference the circular orbit and cycles of all things. Besides, what kid hasn’t spotted a bird in the clouds or perhaps a dragon chasing a flying elephant?

The Moon: When I was very little living in the dark woods, if the moon happened to be very bright, the night forest would shimmer and dance in shadow shapes. You can easily see these imaginings illustrated in many of my pieces.

Spirit Waters: I canoed a great deal and would often view the landscape from the water. A lake to me is like a mirror that reflects the sky and the entire cosmos above that. Stars appear in the ripples as radiating energy. Where the land touches the water, pebbles and stones along the shore appear as a mercurial union of the earthly elements.

Talking Trees: The forest is full of many surprising things, but you don’t always see them. In my ‘talking trees’ I reveal what is hidden just under the surface, the mysteries of the ancient forest. Often there is purple in the trees, which is a dream color in the realm of the spirit world.

Banff and the Mountains: I went to work at the Banff Springs Hotel when I was a teenager. Over the two years I was there, I climbed and explored many of the mountains and river valleys in the area. Before this time, all my paintings were of the forest and lakes, but soon the majestic Rockies made an appearance. I came to know the shapes of these mountains well and since I don’t use a camera, my sketch book became my guide and travelling companion. It’s not an exaggeration to say I’ve filled up and tossed out a few hundred of them.

I’ve always appreciated the wonder of people travelling thousands of miles just to see what I can, anytime I want.

Paint: I used to paint in oils as my father had a paint box that he used to paint wonderful little plien air pieces. I would follow him around the forest as he was trapping and cutting wood. He was also a musician so I learned to play blues guitar at an early age and then later he worked in the oil business. He was always a bit of a mystery to me. At some point we lived in Regina and then we moved to Calgary where he work for B.A. Oil.

I switched to acrylic paint, mostly Golden products so I could varnish my paintings a little faster.