The work of landscape painter Peter Taylor is being shown at Curiosity House Books and Art Gallery from March 8 until April 5.
Taylor’s exhibition, Merging Light, is inspired not by a particular place or time, but by the feelings and visuals of open skies, surreal reflections and fluxes of light. Although many of Taylor’s previous pieces of work were manifestations of the inspiration he drew from faraway landscapes, the work in Merging Light was inspired from long runs on his favourite route along the Nottawasaga 6/7 sideroad, especially during times of shifting weather systems of rain, fog and spires of light.
With Merging Light, Taylor has found a way to not only paint the incredible scenery he encountered along his runs, but also the sense of wonder, surrealism and freedom he feels while racing down the sideroads, often pushing his two-year-old daughter up and down the picturesque, yet challenging, hills. Taylor, who has been running ultra marathons (more than 42 kilometres) for the past 10 years and is currently training for a 200-kilometre run this summer in B.C., is the subject of an independent documentary film that explores the parallels of endurance athletes and the creative process.
“There is a parallel to running and painting for me,” said Taylor, a Dunedin resident. “Both are places where I can rid myself from both present and past and exist in the moment. It’s in this zone where good things happen on the canvas and where I forget the suffering running long can feel like.”
The artwork, which is for sale, will be on display in the gallery from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday to Friday and 9 a.m. 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
Merging Light’s opening wine-and-cheese reception will take place on Friday, March 13 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Curiosity House Books & Gallery, located at 178 Mill St. in Creemore. The art show will close on Sunday, April 5 with an afternoon reception from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.