Abstract by Nature March 23-April 16, 2024

I am pleased to announce my part in a group exhibit including Jack Shadbolt, Graham Fowler, Cécile Buysse, and Ronald Brayden Oaks

https://gevik.com/exhibitions/abstract-by-nature/

Gevik Gallery https://gevik.com/

12 Hazleton Ave, Toronto

RISKY BUSINESS

The Process of Risk-Taking as a Creative Process

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” —Samuel Beckett, Worstward Ho

I have always been fascinated by the notion of ‘Risk’ as it might play out in a creative process. In the sciences, the concept of failure is a natural part of the investigation. If you want to learn how a process works or develop a new one yourself, the precise method demands that you try, fail, and try again. But in the arts, failure is often seen as a dirty word—no one wants to be responsible for a critical or commercial flop. But without taking risks and pushing boundaries, art would remain stagnant, and the creative spirit would be wasted on our fears.

Risk-Taking - Improving through the Creative Process

As an artist, I am very demanding of myself. I see all types of things in my process that I think I could have done better or that I want to challenge myself to do. Setting high standards, high expectations—it’s a very self-critical life. I know I am often my own hardest critic. You practice–it’s a journey. Your first attempts didn’t always pan out exactly how you wanted. It’s a cliché, I know, but it’s not just about the work. It’s also the practice and the journey to get there.

This piece is essentially an exercise in just that. Conceptually, forms embracing the idea of taking a risk, whether it incorporates the use of ‘positive negative' space colour, an option of re-constructing a secondary image, it's all a process of tripping myself up.

Artist: Doug Panton — Title: Risky Business

Size: 22” x28” |. Medium: Analogue Collage