Connections 2 (2005)

About the Artist:
Reg Cantwell has been interested in art from childhood. His formal education took shape in the study of Graphic Design at the College of the North Atlantic where he distinguished himself with honours. He went onto work as a commercial artist.

It was the aftermath of a near fatal auto accident that led to the current almost obsessive interest in figurative work. As he states himself, "One day you're driving along minding your own business then your whole life goes BANG! Humpty Dumpty falls off the wall & you try to put the pieces together only sometimes you can’t ... an entire world view is scattered in an instant."

The accident may as well have been nuclear, as it only took one moment of time but the fall out has mushroomed outward and touched every aspect of Reg's life. This is one artist who has come to the realization that it’s futile to attempt to create order out of chaos. Instead he accepts that chaos and order will do their own thing as he tentatively attempts to learn how to adjust to the step changes.

Artist's Statement:
I attempt to make art from the senses, both mine and the viewers. I approach my art with the attitude that I serve as one part conductor and one part conduit, so that the process is both in and out of my control at the same time.

This painting was inspired while visiting friends during a sketching trip on the southern shore of the Island, on a gorgeous but breezy Labour Day weekend at the end of our very short summers here in Newfoundland.

Resonating with the rhythm of the seasons as our people have done for generations on end, sheets are brought in at closing of the day, after being left on the line to dry in the last, warm, bright summer sun, just before the crisp and cooling Autumn winds claim the air. For the sheets, for summer and for outdoor patio visits, the sketches of the day and the subsequent studio painting marked the end of the line, at least until the following spring.

Exhibitions (Group):