Calgary-based painter David Grudniski is a storyteller. It doesn’t matter that he uses bright colors instead of characters, or scribbled lines instead of words—each of his paintings conveys a unique, bold narrative, loudly and full of life.
Many of David’s stories start out as simple scenes which he then builds up into elaborate, colorful moments which seem as though they might burst off the canvas. Case in point, Another Man’s Treasure, below.
As logical, rational beings, we could categorize each of the objects depicted in this painting as pieces of garbage. But that celebration of color! Those bold, darting lines! There’s no way to be logical about this painting at all—it’s pure joy on canvas.
In fact, David composes and embellishes all of his paintings’ subjects in order bring to light the story he wants to tell. This piece, entitled Urbantopia visually blends together the music, night life, food, and culture at the center of his city.
You can see how he built up layer after layer of color, then scratched away lines (and added more zig-zag lines of paint on top!) until the entire scene feels like it’s almost vibrating with the intensity of the moment.
If you liked Urbantopia, Altered Moment, below, is perhaps a “short story” of a similar moment downtown—where strangers meet and mingle in the intentionally dim light of a nightclub.
To see more of David’s work (and there are MANY paintings and drawings that are well-worth a look) please take a moment to visit his website at www.grudart.ca.
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