Mountaineer David Pirrie<\/strong> has a different take on the Rocky Mountains than most of us. He sees their characteristics, their stratification and the layering of sediment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI treat the mountains like celebrities,\u201d he says. \u201cfashioning larger than life, unattainable, beautiful and mysterious portrayals. I also record their rugged features in detail as they individually assume their own unique personalities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Artist David Pirrie at his studio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pirrie\u2019s collection of mountain portraits opens this April in Vancouver. Separating Mt. Assiniboine, Mt. Phillips or Mt. Edith Carvel from their neighbours and others in the specific range \u00a0de-contextualizes the mountain, he says, making it symbolic rather than representational.<\/p>\n

At first, he thought he\u2019d be an architect but having grown up climbing the mountains of British Columbia and skiing most of them, he went to art school instead, heavily influenced, he says, by his fourth year painting instructor, noted abstract artist Guido Molinari<\/strong>. Recognized for his formal, hard-edge abstraction, Molinari was primarily a colourist, concerned with the interplay and interaction between colours. \u201cThere is no such thing as colour, there are only colour harmonies,\u201d he once said.\u00a0 As a result, Pirrie has created a unique style that combines his interests in architecture, cartography, formalism and of course, the mountain.<\/p>\n

He admits the dot overlays may look like Pop Art but says they represent plotting coordinates. Ditto with the longitudinal and latitudinal grids. And if these devices serve to scrutinize the subject even more, so much the better.<\/p>\n

Mt Assiniboine Late Summer, Rockies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mt Phillips BC, Rockies<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mt. Edith Cavell<\/strong><\/p>\n

He starts with a photograph. Then the artistic interpretation kicks in. All the prominent features are drawn in. A light coloured ground is applied to the canvas and blocks of colours are created with successive layers of glazes. Pirrie thins the acrylic where necessary to end up with a flat, translucent finish.<\/p>\n

Cayley Complex<\/strong><\/p>\n

Continental Drift<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lost in the Mountains<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ridgeline<\/strong><\/p>\n

His ice field paintings are also drawn from personal experience. \u201cThey are contour maps I would have used to navigate the environment,\u201d he says, referring to preparation for the many climbs he has conducted in the past. Reworking and refining them turns them into abstracts.Columbia Icefield Blue<\/strong><\/p>\n

Columbia Icefield<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pirrie\u2019s show, \u201cMapping the Rockies\u201d<\/strong> is on display at Vancouver\u2019s Ian Tan Gallery until the end of the month<\/p>\n

+\u00a0DavidPirrie<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

+\u00a0Guido Molinari<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Mountaineer David Pirrie has a different take on the Rocky Mountains than most of us. He sees their characteristics, their stratification and the layering of sediment. \u201cI treat the mountains like celebrities,\u201d he says. \u201cfashioning larger than life, unattainable, beautiful and mysterious portrayals. I also record their rugged features in detail as they individually assume […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":46114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[88],"tags":[360,7818,7819,7820,7821],"yoast_head":"\n