Joel Mara
Joel Mara utilizes his connection to raw, untamed nature to create soothing, participatory experiences of art, countryside and colour.
Mara, drawn to the drama and immediacy of nature, translates his desire to achieve a sense of stillness and observation into each of his paintings, which cover a wide range of Canadian scenery. These redolent images contain a deep air of wistfulness seen almost through a grainy lens like a vintage photography or old film reel.
Simplifying his work as much as he dares, Mara, paints in small, micro brushstrokes of gentle, naturalistic colour creating highly pixelated works which viewed close up provide a multitude of quick, intricate details but viewed from afar present a sweeping vision of evocative landscapes.
In witnessing Mara's work, viewers are treated to a highly realistic visage of the beauty of the surrounding countryside but are also drawn in close, to be an intimate partaker in the absorption of the artist's energetic, rippling dance of colour, form and light.
BC based painter Joel Mara spent his childhood years on the beaches of Vancouver Island. Here he developed an appreciation for nature that grew into an artistic pursuit.
Mara paints evocative landscapes with undulating colorful brushstrokes where his is drawn to the drama and immediacy of nature. When viewed from a distance, viewers will appreciate the sweeping vision of his work; close up, they can witness the intricate, energetic dance of the individual brushstrokes that make up the whole. "The concept of my work is to create a landscape using less drawing and more color," he explains. "I simplify as much as I dare." Joel Mara currently works and paints in Vancouver.