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PAINTINGS
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Larry Bracegirdle
Larry Bracegirdle was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1948. He grew up in Montréal and lived in Ottawa & the Town of Perth and surrounding rural Ontario for 22 years before settling in Victoria, British Columbia in 1996, where he resides today.Larry began painting at an early age. He has, "made pictures" all his life. He states, "There is no deep or philosophical reason for it other than I love to paint" Larry was encouraged by the sale of his first painting at the age of 19 and hence his professional career began in earnest in 1967. He didn't believe he could be a "real painter". But now, a s a full time professional Larry works everyday like the rest of the world. He is at his easel by seven or eight in the morning and works through to dinnertime, sometimes working into the night. His output is prolific and eager collectors and prominent galleries throughout Canada readily purchase the large number of paintings he produces.
As a self-taught painter, Larry calls himself a "painterly realist". In contrast to his early work, which verged on photo-realism, he has learned through practice and self-study to loosen up and let the paint do the talking. Now there is next to no blending of the paint. He says, "I mix up a brush load, wipe it on the canvas and move on." The method in which Bracegirdle practices his art has come full circle. Beginning with the use of photography as a technique to hone his drawing skills; then painting "en plein air" in order to train his eye; to painting interiors, a subject matter which "sits still" then back to photography to capture the moment, he now paints real life with finely tuned drawing skills and a keen, passionate eye.
Influenced by Dutch painter Jan Vermeer, Larry specializes in domestic interiors and like Verneer, has become renowned for his use of light. The Spanish surrealist, Salvador Dali and Canadian realist Jack Chambers were also major influences.
Bracegirdle has been painting for almost 40 years and in that time he has painted all the subjects around him: interiors, landscapes, still lifes, horses and even an odd marinescape. He uses an extensive palette of about 12 colours and orange is his favourite. He says,"I seem to get orange into almost every painting". Also, "oil paints are the most appealing because they give you most control and they are sturdy and sensual." The light, the colour, the sensuality, and the comforting nostalgia of Larry"s subject matter draws the viewer in to have a closer look at the idyllic reality portrayed in his lush paintings.
