Learn more about Edmonton artist, Emmanuel Osahor, whose work you can catch this year in The Scene.
Where is your father’s garden?
The garden is based on a photograph I took a couple years ago in Edmonton, around the Queen Alexandria neighbourhood where I was living at the time.
What kind of garden is it and Does it still exist?
I'm not 100% sure, but I think it was a summertime flower garden. I think it does, although I don't live in Edmonton anymore.
Are there any specific items in the garden that are special to you?
Not necessarily, the photograph was a jump of point to then create a painting that is a bit more abstract than the initial photograph. For me the painting is more about desire. What does it look like to imagine a garden that never existed but that you have this deep longing for. I focused on making a painting that was inviting, though the bright yellows and greens, but also a bit mysterious because of the hazy nature of the background. For me the garden depicted in the painting doesn't exist but is rather coming into being through the act of painting and in the viewers mind as they try to make sense of it.
Do you have your own garden?
Yes! but not in the traditional sense. I have about 20 house plants that I keep all year round, and then I have a small plot of land at a friend's place that I plant vegetables in the summer. I also like to think of the studio as a garden of sorts. A garden of paints maybe?
How do you create your paintings?
My process is actually quite similar to the project you are designing. I started out by making a fairly abstract color field painting based on the colors found in the photograph basically trying to map out my deepest shadows and the midtones in the painting, I then sanded the painting with a power sander when it was dry to give me the hazy background that feel more abstract and "natural", and then I worked into it by drawing in some more distinct elements like the plants in the centre, the fence and the leaves in the top right.
Thanks Emmanuel.
Click here to discover this Hidden Garden Collage Painting project from AGA Education inspired by Emmanuel's work.
