Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Art of Michael Dumas


Mill cloth


Pragmatist


Genetic drift


Trust


Daydream


Algonquin Falcons


Silence in the shadows

Michael Dumas is an award winning artist known world wide for his amazing talent and skill as well his dedication and support of nature conservation.

Mr. Dumas' paintings hold a special place in my list of favourites. These days, it is rare for me to find an artist whose passion and dedication is so obvious and to find one that explores different subject matter throughout their career. I have heard many people in the business give the advice to artists "pick one subject and keep doing that one thing".  That might be good advice for a factory owner but it does little to keep fresh that fire of inspiration and passion in the heart of most artists. I doubt most poets want to write the same poem over and over again and although some themes return and become part of the heartbeat of a particular artist, I believe it is wise to see that there are many subjects through which we can express ourselves. The journey of being an artist is forever moving and changing and shifts and develops as we do.

With every painting of Dumas' that I am fortunate enough to see, I am consistently met with the realization that he loves his work and that each aspect of his work is filled with devotion, sensitivity and care.  I think, in reality, those qualities are his subjects and they filter through him to become the images of his paintings. All artists are painting those unseen forces that they carry, and the art work that they produce is an expression of that process.