I won a drawing contest in Grade 5. The prize was a chance to draw the map of Australia on the chalk board. I was hooked...and off to a career in art!
Or so I thought.
It took a few years to finally get to that career. And that career evolved through gallery representation to decorative and licensed work and now back to an emphasis on gallery representation.
In the beginning, I worked with pastel. I loved the soft, chalky look. But I've subsequently worked in prints and currently in acylic/mixed media.
Resume
Exhibitions:
- Bob Pennycook: New Works; solo exhibition, March 2013, Parrott Gallery, Belleville Public Library
- Belleville Art Association One by One Show and Sale, 2012
- Belleville Art Association Juried Show, 2011
- Belleville Art Association One by One Show and Sale, 2011
- Quinte Arts Council Art in the Community, 2011
- Belleville Art Association juried show, 2010
- "Canadian Landscape", juried show; Agnes Jamieson Gallery, Minden, ON, 2010
- Quinte Arts Council, Art in the Community, 2010
- Belleville Art Association, "People and Places" show, 2010
- Belleville Art Association, "Artists Choice" show, 2010
- Belleville Art Association, "Friends" show, 2010
- Tweed Studio tour, 2010 and 2011
- Quinte Art Council Art in the Community, 2009
- Belleville Art Association, open show
- Belleville Art Association, textiles, 2009
- Richeson75, landscape juried show, Wisconsin, 2006
- Art in the Gardens, Sherway Gardens, Toronto, group show, 2006
- Common Threads, national juried textile exhibition, Oakville, ON, Canada, 2005
Prior to 2005:
- Society of Canadian Artist, national open juried show, Toronto
- Southeastern Pastel Association, Atlanta, Georgia, biannual international juried show
- Central Ontario Art Association, annual regional juried show
- Art Gallery of Peel, Brampton, ON, regional juried show
- Visual Arts Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, annual juried show
- Visual Arts Brampton, Brampton, ON, annual juried show
- Salmagundi Club, New York, NY, juried show
Awards:
- Belleville Art Association juried show, 2010, Juror's Choice Award
- Belleville Art Association, open show, People's Choice Award, 2009
- Visual Arts Brampton, Brampton, ON, best in show, 1996
- Visual Arts Brampton, Brampton, ON, juror's choice, 1994
Art Education:
- Art training at the following: Ontario College of Art, 1981-1985; Emily Carr University, Vancouver, current, continuing education
- Workshops, courses and programs at: Three Schools; Sheridan College; Humber College; University of Waterloo; York University; Toronto School of Art
Publications:
- Canadian House and Home Magazine, Oct. 2010, photograph of "This Morning" to promote the Tweed Studio Tour
- Teacher's Spectrum newsletter, Loew-Cornell, interview, 2004
- Teacher's Spectrum newsletter, Loew-Cornell, "designing for magazines", 2002
- Traditions Magazine, Sheridan College Alumni, feature on my art, late 1990s
- Featured artist on Tweed Studio Tour website, 2010
- Art mentioned in "Strategies for Active Living After 50" by Jim and Olga McDonald, 2003
- Work featured on Magic Metallics website, current
- Work featured on Painters Paradise website, current
Licensing:
- Have licensed my work through Penny Lane Publishing; Porterfields Fine Art and Sagebrush Publishing for use on trivets, trays, cutting boards, candles, posters and greeting cards. Clients have included Evergreen, Highland Graphics, Crossroads and Current.
- Current licences with Crossroads (candles, boxes and lamps); Current (greeting cards and mailing labels) and Penny Lane (posters)
Artist Statement
My work explores color and shape relationships in the landscape. My approach is to create narrative landscapes using simple lines and form.
The colors and shapes in my paintings can be read as metaphors for the human condition. As I paint the environment outside my studio window, I'm reminded of strength, change, urgency, nurture, aggression, and, as I paint, the shapes become the symbols while the color lends the emotion. Although inspired by the world outside my window, the landscapes are more internal, like a shoebox where I can tuck away pieces of my story and where I can explore space both as a natural phenomenon and as a backdrop for our place in nature.
I work in acrylic incorporating graphite, charcoal, paper and ink into the art until the story appears. The fast drying quality of the acrylic allows for more immediate surface manipulation as I build my layers of patterns through soaking, scraping, wiping and direct painting techniques using brush, rag and knife.
