Featured Show: My Neighbourhood on a Sunny Day
February 1, 2017 - March 16, 2017
Reza Doust's solo show, from February 1st - March 16th, featured oil paintings that capture the quiet beauty of the Tri-Cities and reflect a personal journey of freedom and celebration. Doust's magic with oils was shown through a free live painting demonstration on Saturday, February 11 from 3-5pm. The finished work, along with a secondary smaller work, were featured at Share's Imagine Gala where it was available for live auction. 100% of proceeds from the sale went to benefit Share services in the Tri-Cities.
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“For 20 years, my world was my basement with a window that let in little light. Last spring, the sun’s warmth invited me outside. Suddenly, my canvases came alive. The joy and freedom of painting outdoors was unforgettable.” |
I began painting with oil at age 14. Captivated by the countryside surrounding my ancient city of Esfahan, the warmth and beauty of sunlight bathing nature, the rich farmland and those living on the land. It beckoned me to capture what I saw and felt as expressively as I could. The magical Zayande River and the trees along its shores were favourite subjects. I would listen to the melody of its flowing waters, entranced by the distant mountains, shaped over thousands of years, providing the perfect canvas.
I now work in my basement, lit only by a small north-facing window, typical of many Coquitlam homes. I rarely venture into the woods to create landscape images. At first, my subject matter focussed heavily on the news of innocent Persian people and creating figurative art. I challenged myself to go deeper. My life-long desire has been to express what I feel, what I sense, from my surroundings, from nature, from the subject at hand, and release those emotions from deep within.
Wherever I have lived, I have re-created my homeland in my studio. The collection of photographs and news clippings, full of love and memory, surround me, nurture me and remind me from where I have come – “painting my life story."
After all these years, I am still in love with the smell of oils. I love to work with and mix different kinds of media, to rub paint with my hands and to use large brushes. After decades of acquiring new skills and techniques, I have come full circle to realize that it should come from within, that the best skills, techniques and media do not matter. I have only my own life to create art. I now understand what Van Gogh meant when he said, "…suffering as I am, I cannot do without something greater than myself, something which is my life – the power to create.”
I now work in my basement, lit only by a small north-facing window, typical of many Coquitlam homes. I rarely venture into the woods to create landscape images. At first, my subject matter focussed heavily on the news of innocent Persian people and creating figurative art. I challenged myself to go deeper. My life-long desire has been to express what I feel, what I sense, from my surroundings, from nature, from the subject at hand, and release those emotions from deep within.
Wherever I have lived, I have re-created my homeland in my studio. The collection of photographs and news clippings, full of love and memory, surround me, nurture me and remind me from where I have come – “painting my life story."
After all these years, I am still in love with the smell of oils. I love to work with and mix different kinds of media, to rub paint with my hands and to use large brushes. After decades of acquiring new skills and techniques, I have come full circle to realize that it should come from within, that the best skills, techniques and media do not matter. I have only my own life to create art. I now understand what Van Gogh meant when he said, "…suffering as I am, I cannot do without something greater than myself, something which is my life – the power to create.”
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Reza Doust was born in Esfahan, the historical capital of Iran. He was trained in the traditional method and techniques of Persian art (1974). Doust’s first solo exhibition, at the age of 14, was at the Iranian & American Cultural Society.
Doust graduated from Tehran University in 1986. In 1993, with his family, he left Iran for Kuwait. Doust is known for his Avant-garde style, his painting exhibitions, and large installations in Kuwait and the Persian Gulf region, as well as throughout Europe. His art shows internationally. Doust lives and works in Coquitlam BC, Canada. rezadoust.com |
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