Tree Portrait 2, 2019

David Grieve  

David Grieve was introduced to oil painting at a young age. As a child he would often accompany his mother to a group oil painting class. It was at the young age of nine that he created his first oil painting and his love of creating, blossomed throughout his adolescence.

David was the recipient of the Michael Scotchmer scholarship, studying Fine Arts at the University of Guelph. As a student, David was given the opportunity to display his work in the Zavitz Gallery in Guelph, Ontario, receiving positive reviews and giving him the opportunity to encounter and connect with collectors.

His inspiration comes from walking along pathways through protected natural areas. Recalling the sense of tranquil beauty David says, “The path itself is like a metaphor for life. It is a journey from beginning to end, with ups and downs and twists along the way. The sun shines brightly through the open spaces in the canopy of trees, while in other areas, Icing, dark shadows are cast across the pathway. One thing is certain however, the end of the path opens into an expansive field, akin to Heaven, as our journey of life inevitably comes to an end."

The landscape paintings often focus on one solitary tree standing alone in an open space. His technique of cropping sections allows the observer to focus more carefully on one area without taking the entire piece for granted. The use of rich, organic, autumn colours represent the maturity of the tree in the cycle of life, providing the observer wit with a strong sense of change, as the landscape ages and decays. The beauty found in aspects of time and change is the ever present theme underlying the paintings he creates.

Surrounded by trees and fields, David's home studio in Brantford, Ontario, Canada keeps him close to his wife and three young sons.