William (Bill) Brownridge

Overview

Celebrated and widely-admired Canadian artist and author William Brownridge enjoys renown as a hockey artist who captures the pure, ecstatic joy of the game and the crisp beauty of Canadian winters.

Brownridge’s heavily textured work utilizes an incredibly dynamic colour palette to showcase the starkness and luminosity of winter and the implied movement of the players in the open-air games he portrays. Combining thick, impasto dabs of paint as a base for each idyllic scene and softly highlighted characters whose colourful attire speaks to the joyfulness of the sport, Brownridge solidifies the distinction of being one of Canada’s most popular hockey artists. With a fascination for action and wintertime, the artist’s work embodies the spirit of a seasonal outdoor sport that is at the very core of Canadian culture. Personifying the ‘heart of hockey’, each piece is as relatable and comforting as the small-town community ponds and ice surfaces Brownridge renders.

Works
Bibliography

Bill BrownridgeWilliam Roy "Bill" Brownridge is one of Canada's most popular hockey artists and author of three Canadian classic children's hockey books. The game of hockey - with emphasis on children's enjoyment of playing this great game – has been a life-long inspiration for Bill.

Bill Brownridge graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and Art (now the Alberta College of Art) with a diploma in advertising art. In 1975-76 he won a Canada Council grant to paint and draw the disappearing railroad architecture of the prairies. He was commissioned in 1981 by the Calgary Olympic Development Association to render a series of serigraphs depicting the sporting events of the Olympic Winter Games. These works were used as a part of Calgary's winning presentation (both in print and film) to the International Olympic Committee for the 1988 Olympics.