Drew is a realist oil painter born and raised on the Canadian prairies. Drawing and sketching from an early age, he received his Fine Art training in Phoenix, Arizona. While there, he was deeply influenced by the contemporary Western painting style of the Southwest and to this day is an admirer of the works of Howard Terpening, Matt Smith and Mian Situ.
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| Drew Keilback |
When did you realize you loved art and wanted to be an artist? Impossible to tell. Like most artists I’ve enjoyed drawing for as long as I can remember. I think drawing is a primordial means of communication and, as children, we instinctively pick up a pencil to convey our first messages. For some of us the ‘medium is the message’ and we continue on to become artists in all its different forms.
Who has been your mentor, or greatest influence to date? My mother encouraged me to move to Phoenix to continue my art training. It was a revelation for me artistically, in that the light and palette were opposed to what I was used to on the West Coast.
Who has been your mentor, or greatest influence to date? The first painter that I can recall wanting to emulate was Howard Terpening. His subject matter, then, as now, has always appealed to me and his style blew me away. I used to hunt out galleries in Phoenix and Tucson that carried his work in order to study them.
Who is another living artist you admire and why? Lately I’ve followed the works of Tibor Nagy and David Shevlino. Their brushwork is amazing and they both have a spontaneity and looseness that speaks to me. I know that there is a certain amount of abstraction there that I would like to start incorporating into my own.
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| © Galiano Boat by Drew Keilback |
What is your favorite surface to paint on? Canvas mainly and board if I want a bit more detail.
What is your favorite brand of paint to use? Michael Harding oils.
Do you have a favorite color palette? My palette varies from painting to painting.
When looking at your paintings, your work is diverse from outdoor landscapes, florals and seascapes to people. Why draws you to these different subjects; what are your inspirations for your work? I’m a day to day painter. If something strikes me as being ‘paintable’ I paint it. I’m not making any particular effort to convey any philosophical or spiritual messages in my work. I look for composition and design in everyday things and tend to simplify all things down to basic geometrical shapes. My overriding goal is to simplify or “abstract’ even further keeping a more “painterly’ effect and allowing the brushwork to speak.
How often do you paint? Almost daily.
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| © Rockies by Drew Keilback |
What is the one thing you would like to be remembered for. As an honest person who lived a free and simple life void of any unnecessary complications.
There are many culprits that can crush creativity, such as distractions, self-doubt and fear of failure. What tends to stand in the way of your creativity? My career as a video composite artist for a major broadcasting corporation working with many varied and demanding clients taught me how to absorb and deflect criticism from all levels. Corporations play by rules that must not be broken and though the producers tend to ask that you think ‘outside the box’, they become very nervous when you cross the line and they start building walls immediately crushing creativity in fear of their own failure. I’ve never feared failure as an artist because missteps are simply part of the learning process. Every painting is a failure in some sense.
How do you overcome these obstacles? Is much as I want people to enjoy my work, their appreciation is not what drives me. I paint for myself.
What is your favorite way to get creative juices flowing? I take old paintings (or those I don’t like) and cut them up. Then I glue the pieces back on to a board in a random fashion creating an abstract design. It works – there’s a composition in there somewhere just waiting for a subject!
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| © Angel by Drew Keilback |
Which work of yours is your favorite? My favorite is always the one on my easel.
Up Close and Personal
What book are you reading this week? LONDON by Edward Rutherford.
Do you have a favorite televion show? I have a short attention span for television unless it’s hockey or baseball. What is your favorite food? Chicken with curry.
What color sheets are on your bed right now? Without looking, I haven’t a clue.
What is your favorite color in your closet? No favorites there.
What are you most proud of in your life? The fact that I’ve had a career in a creative and artistic field that has led me straight into what I love doing the most.
Who would you love to interview? Marco Polo. A true adventurer.
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| © A Leaf Fell by Drew Keilback |
Do you have a passion or hobby other than painting/sculpting? History.
Who would you love to paint? My grandfather that I never met.
If you were an animal what would you be and why? A raven. Free flying, intelligent, mystical with a sense of humor.
If you were stranded on a desert island and could only take three things, what would they be? (A pig, a knife and fork). I think simply I would answer that this way – my sunglasses, a pencil and a bottle
Share something with us that few people know about you. In Grade 5 I was disciplined for drawing in my books (I guess the teacher thought our books were more about neatness than learning). And I flunked Art in Grade 12.
If you could live anywhere in the world, where would you live? I would never leave the West Coast, but it would be nice to spend a little time each year on a Greek Island.
Anything you would add? I’ve copied a quote from an artist by the name of Ken Kewley that is by my easel … it says “In painting, you never do what you set out to do. Something else happens. Do not try to make a picture of something. Make something.”
I would also add that I’ve learned that by trying to copy or emulate someone else’s style you’ve restricted your own capabilities in unnecessarily confining yourself to something that may not be natural to you. Just let it flow. Just paint.
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