Intuitive Paintings by Stephen Arthur

May 3 - 27

716 East Hastings Street, Vancouver

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Reception: May 6 from 2-4pm

Free and open to the public. This event is part of the Strathcona Art Walk.

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Artist Talk: May 20 from 1-3pm

Free and open to the public. Reserve your seat by emailing us at outsidersandothers@gmail.com

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"I'm a retired technical-writer, a past experimental-animation filmmaker, and a long-ago screenwriter, born in Vancouver. Since May 2021 I'm an intuitive painter. 

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All of my paintings are created by a kind of spontaneous improvisation and stream of consciousness that often generates unexpected insights and symbolism. I seem to be creating my own mythology with its own inner logic, where the tension in the figurative images often produces a kind of cinematic narrative—including transformations, transfer of visual affinities, and intriguing ambiguities not seen at first glance. As a person who may be “on the spectrum,” I believe my point of view is unique yet often addresses universal themes with layers of ambiguity that make people think and feel beyond their conventional assumptions.

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As a low-income pensioner, I have no commitments and can’t be a tourist, so I’ve been making one painting a week steadily for two years so far and I feel very inspired to continue with this painting process indefinitely.

Although I do have formal training in film production and have experience creating self-taught animation, I have no training or education in painting or fine art, and I’m developing my painting practice in a self-taught manner, simply by doing it.

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I primarily paint "for process, not product," a liberating slogan from the book that inspired me: Life, Paint and Passion: Reclaiming the Magic of Spontaneous Expression. My wife had taken classes from the authors of the book and she suggested I try it. I was amazed by the process. I’m constantly surprised and delighted by what arises in the scenes of my unplanned paintings as I react from one image to the next."

Stephen Arthur

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This is the first time Stephen has exhibited his artwork in public.

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