INTERVIEW WITH LOCAL ARTIST RICKY SHEADE FROM CANADAMy work stems from personal experiences and emotions, dreams, and sometimes purely from imagination–it is a telling of my own story. Through the exploration of my imagination, and inspiration from world cultures, icons, and imagery, I have developed a unique visual language with which I tell this story. I am constantly indulging in sensory and cultural input which, like fertilizer to a field, is nourishing this visual language, and I am always surprised by what I create. Each piece is a new frontier.
This exploration of the imagination is an act of devotion to my inner child, for it is my belief that our inner child’s freedom of expression is at the root of our happiness. By sharing my own childlike wonder, I hope to open my viewership to their own, helping to peel away the years of conditioning which may be keeping them from happiness.
1.) When did you first get the urge to create art?
When I was very little, maybe four years old, my dad got me a tile and some paints and guided me in my very first painting ever. Throughout my childhood he introduced me to painting in this very free, expressive kind of way, but I never thought I could be an artist. It was just something I did for fun, and I remember loving it more than anything else.
2.) What age did you start painting on canvas?
In high school, after a kind of ‘spiritual rebirth’ experience, I felt compelled to buy my own paints and canvas from Maggiolly Art Supplies. I watched some Bob Ross videos and started painting landscapes in my bedroom after school. And again, I never thought at this time that I could be an artist, it was just something I did for fun.
3.) What were your inspirations as a child?
As a child, I was constantly saturated in my imagination, running around in fantastical worlds as characters of my creation embarked on great quests. I loved animals; dolphins, elephants, cats. Imaginative TV shows. Movies, like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc. Anything imaginative, surreal, unique and colourful. I was always deeply inspired by the sciences, by physics and the biology of cellular life. All of these childhood inspirations are where my art today has its roots.
4.) Did you take art in school?
During elementary school there was always an art class that I really enjoyed. In high school, however, for some reason I avoided any visual arts classes. I took things like drama, speaking skills, Englishes, cooking classes, but never ever a visual arts course. And I think this is partly responsible for why I was able to cultivate my own unique vision, that I didn’t go into these classes where I would have been placed into a box. It allowed my vision to remain uninhibited, and truly my own.
5.) Do you have friends with the same passions?
I have many friends locally and abroad who are artists. I have been fortunate enough to travel to Austria twice now and become part of a visionary creative community with artists from around the world.
6.) Can you remember when you felt that the practice finally showed in your art?
Through my studies in Austria during summer 2015/2016 with Philip Rubinov Jacobson, I have truly noticed a quantum leap in my work. Not only have I leaned an incredible amount from my teacher and fellow students, but traveling and experiencing how other more established artists approach their lives and painting practices compelled me to take my art and my career very seriously. As a result, I have refined my work and striven to learn as much as I possibly can, and to improve in any way possible, both in my practice and in my professional life.
7.) Where do your concepts for your work come from?
Lately, my work has been coming from a place of struggling to cope with the world we are growing into. As a child, I was constantly exposed to movies, articles and books about global warming, and the terrible destruction we are wreaking upon planet earth. As I have grown older, I am seeing the effects of climate change first hand. This terrifies me, for what world are we leaving to our children? And how could we be so careless as to cause such pain to the beautiful kingdom of life? My work is a way of coping with this internal struggle, but also as a way to raise awareness about climate change, our role in the poisoning of the earth, but also, most importantly, how we can rise above it and restore balance to the earth.
8.) How can we help each other to thrive as artists?
Support one another by sharing each others work, by critiquing one another and by helping each other improve. By collaborating with one another to create a higher vision.
9.) In your opinion, what does art provide the world, and how can art have political, or social influence.
Art is a gateway into the unseen, providing a glimpse into the human imagination, to our deepest fears, our deepest hopes, and to the emotions we experience. The art at any time in history is a reflection of the collective consciousness of humanity at that time. Art allows us to look back through time and see the struggles of the people, as opposed to the history books, propaganda written by the winners of the wars. Art provides a genuine place for people to connect, a place without materialism and the ‘rat race’ mentality. It allows us to step into our emotions, and into our imaginations, to take a break from the mundane world.
10.) Has the education system helped you develop your talent(s) and/or has it held you back in any way?
I had a generally good experience with the education system in Canada. I think that because I avoided visual arts classes in high school, I was able to explore my own unique vision and truly become an artist. So, although I feel that it would have held me back, I navigated the education system in such a way that it didn’t.
11.) How does colour make you feel, and do you think we have an abundance or lack of colour in our society.
Colour, in its infinite combinations, can evoke any kind of emotion from me. Everywhere you look there is colour, so I definitely don’t think our culture lacks colour, it merely has a different palette than other cultures. I traveled to Guatemala in December of 2012, and there I experienced a society full of vibrant, tropical colours. Canada is colder, and a much newer culture, so we are still figuring out what it means to be Canadian, what our culture really is.
12.) Did you pull your inspiration from any cultural influence around the world ?
Definitely my trips to Guatemala and Austria have had a heavy influence in my work. The culture, architecture, colour and imagery of the Mayan people have inspired me to use vibrant, tropical colours, whereas the exquisite imperial architecture of Vienna, and the culture of rural Austria, have inspired me to tone down my colours to achieve a more moody feeling. And of course, the beautiful seasons of Canada, and our fledgling new culture, have been a grounding point for my work.
13.) What in life has brought you to paint things you normally wouldn't see ?
My fertile imagination is responsible for the strange images I create. This imagination, like a garden, is watered by each image, fertilized by each song, nurtured each piece of cultural input I experience over time. From the Maya to Austria, from Sponge bob to Avatar, anything I find interesting has influence on my visual language.
14.) Do you find anything like pop culture or social media effect your work ?
Social media has allowed me to connect with countless inspirational artists from around the world. It is my admiration of their work that drives me to keep improving my art and refining my vision. Without this new world of social media and pop culture, I definitely wouldn’t be the person or artist I am today.
15.) Have you ever wanted to travel to promote your art ? and where would you want to go and why ?
Of course! I will travel the earth with my art, from Europe to Asia, to Australia and south America, I hope to visit as many countries as I can to share my work!
16.) What would you like to be able to accomplish with art (buy a house,car,travel,etc.)
The main goal is to be able to continue making art, so whatever I need to do in order to make that happen. A house and car sound nice too, I’m sure I’ll have those one day when I’ve done enough traveling to want to really settle down.
17.) What other artists do you recommend?
There are so many amazing artists out there, too many to list. Philip Rubinov Jacobson, Ernst Fuchs, Peter Gric, De Es Schwertberger, Wolfgang Widmoser, Zdzisław Beksiński, Ernst Haeckl, and Peter Paul Rubens are just a few of my favorites.
18.) Did your childhood play apart in your motivation as an artist ?
Everything I do has its roots in the wonder and imagination of my childhood. Greater than anything else, I have striven to maintain the purity and freedom of my inner child, so that it can be expressed through my art.
19.) Do you have any shows coming up that we should know about?
Yes! On December 10, at Temple 23 in Liberty Village, Toronto, I am part of the 2016 Toronto Visionary Art Exhibit. In February 2017, I am part of a show called ‘Emergence and Rebirth’ at Twist Gallery on Queen West in Toronto. Sometime in the spring or summer of 2017, I will have my solo exhibition ‘The Triumph of Life’ at a beautiful venue in Orangeville area. Lots to look forward to! Very busy!
Ricky Schaede
Visionary Artist
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