Wally Shishkov

Artist's statement: I left a medical career 4 years ago to further navigate the possibilities of devoting the remainder of my life to painting full time without a physician's income. Now, we've come back to Nova Scotia and it's time to breathe a little deeper, live a little freer and paint with abandon.
Since my discovery of making luscious oil paint from raw materials, I feel that working quickly, generously and thickly is the best expression of how I love the experience of life in the various pristine landscapes of the Maritimes.
The paintings that can bring tears as they emerge and which bring me joy when finished, happen in a state of thought freedom. This state is elusive but repeatable - with practice. It is this quality, that is beyond mere form, colour, and paintstroke which endows the work with an ineffable but enduring life. Creating at its best feels like the painting is forming itself. This is at once mysteriously humbling and exhilarating.