John Barkley 1964

As a young boy, growing up in the Ottawa valley, I drew and painted the forest, my siblings, and the animals on our small hobby farm. My father an artists as well, took me on sketching and painting trips with him and his artist friends. During my youth I completed a B.A honours, a B.F.A. and then a Masters degree. I was born in Ottawa in 1964 and lived just outside of Perth as a boy. Currently I reside in the Gatineau Hills of Quebec, having residence and a studio in Wakefield Quebec.

My art practice has been consistent, ongoing, and persistent as I have pursued various genres, and experimented with various painting applications and constructions since 1996. I have tried just about everything that can be done in painting, from translucent thin washes on canvas to the integration of 3d objects on board. My process involves both experimentation and inner search. I have been interested in both painting as an art and as a means of investigating the self and its relationship to the outer world.
I am essentially concerned with these two questions: What am I and how am I connected to nature, the earth and the universe itself? And what can I do with paint and particularly how far can I push the genre while communicating ideas? Ultimately, I am interested in the spiritual aspect of human existence.