Jeremy Price

Biography

Each day, our lives require us to move from one place to another, instead of dreading it, Jeremy Price actually enjoys capturing it. The whirlwind of cars, bikes and pedestrians become the focus of his exceptional oil paintings. Born and raised in London, Ontario, Canada, Jeremy currently lives in Montreal. With a degree from the Vancouver Film School’s 3D animation program, he works as a 3D artist in the videogame industry. Interestingly, his ability to create movement through animation displays itself in his talent as a painter.

For the most part, Price chooses subjects that define his own, personal view of the city - often a mix of childhood memories and new experiences. His images are straightforward, however, depicting what he describes as “the stagings of the day, of commuting, of living." In addition, all of his paintings have one thing in common. . . they are all fleeting moments, and remind us of how life moves by so quickly. Price’s paintings actually feel like a snapshot in time. He evokes this feeling through his ability to “focus” certain subjects in his paintings while allowing the rest of the scene to blur out. The central object is often crisp and clear in the foreground, while the background is still moving and a little blurred. His colour choices also enhance this effect, with brighter colours up close and duller ones in the distance. His brushstrokes become a soft, yet very visible texture throughout all of his work. A majority of his city views are powerfully graphic representations of busy street scenes.

Price paints a wide range of subjects but lately appears to focus on the figure and urban scenes. In many of his works, especially the landscapes, there is a wonderful balance between slow careful observation and the mad rush to capture fleeting light situations. In his urban landscapes, Jeremy slows down a bit and considers inventive ways to simplify the complexities of crowds, traffic and architecture by emphasizing the design of the broad play of light and shadow that creates rhythmic passages and geometric tensions in the painting.

Price’s paintings are from life and have a gutsy bravura to the paint handling where rapid drawing and painting are fuzed with design decisions. The visual pull of the perspective is reinforced by the flow of traffic, the long shadows or buildings disappearing into a distant haze. Price’s use of a pallet knife is a great counterpoint to the soft tonal structure of the painting and it further enhances the sense of movement and mood. This also gives the painting a radiating aura emanating from the central figure or subject. It’s always amazing when an artist has seemingly loose, broad strokes and the end result is subjective magic where the artist is inviting the viewer to be enveloped by the painting.

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