MERV BRANDEL

Merv Brandels's Original Paintings - Click Here

I was born and raised in Kelowna. I graduated from Kelowna Secondary School and in the fall of 1969 was accepted into the Alberta College of Art in Calgary. I received an advertising art diploma from the college in 1973 and went to work for Commercial Printers in Calgary. A year later I started working for Nelson McDonald. My job there was illustrating buildings from blueprints. In 1976 I opened up my own business in Calgary designing logos, brochures, annual reports and a lot of illustration for architects and developers. In 1980 we moved family and business back to Kelowna. I kept the business going until 1985 and decided to start painting full time. Two of my paintings were picked for the B.C. Festival of the Arts in Penticton. After that show the Kelowna Art Gallery wanted me to have a show with another artist in their gallery. Collector’s Gallery in Kelowna was the first gallery to show my work on a regular basis. From there my work was accepted into other galleries such as Gainsborough Gallery in Calgary, Tutt Street Gallery in Kelowna, Hampton Gallery in Kamloops, Horizons West Gallery in Vancouver, Alicat Gallery in Bragg Creek, Jenkins Showler Gallery in White Rock, Hambleton Gallery in Kelowna and Lloyd Gallery in Penticton.

In 1994 we moved to Hornby Island for a 9-month period to see how we liked living on the West Coast. We loved Hornby but it was a little out of the way for us so we bought a house in Secret Cove on the Sunshine Coast. Lived there for 4 years and then moved to Qualicum Beach on Vancouver Island. There is a great artist community in Qualicum and we’ve decided that this is where we want to live. In Kelowna I was involved in the beginning of a new public gallery. I was on the board of directors for 2 years. The group was called the Okanagan Artists Alternative and it involved about 50 artists from all over the Okanagan. We put together exhibitions about every 6 months – some were juried theme shows and others involved every artist if they wanted to show. We applied for a grant from the Canada Council and received enough money to start a gallery and higher 2 full time people. It’s called the Alternator Gallery and it’s still going strong. They have just recently moved into a new building. During my time with this group of artists I experimented with my work. I tried new styles and the theme shows offered new subjects to try to make paintings from. It’s helped me in the work I’m doing today. I’m involved with The Old School House in Qualicum Beach. It’s an art gallery with resident artist’s studios. We have art classes, exhibition openings, a gift shop and music on Sunday afternoons. I’m on the exhibition committee and head of the exhibition hanging committee and do most of the advertising such as posters, brochures and invitations for shows. I am now a board member. There has always been the debate about inherited versus acquired ability. I’m leaning towards inherited ability. When I was very young my uncle quit art school and gave me his art supplies. This included oil paint, brushed and canvas. I still have some of the paintings I did back then but most of them where given to relatives and friends of my parents. Most of my childhood memories had something to do with art.

I was always being asked to draw or paint things for friends and teachers. I won poster contests and received awards in high school for my paintings and drawings. My high school art teachers guided me towards a career in fine art by showing me what art college was all about. Many other people have helped me along the way. Realism has suffered in the last generation or so but I think it is slowly making a comeback. Today’s realism is different than traditional realism in that this generation of artists is expressing experiences and making statements about our human condition. Because of the style I paint in, I use photography as a reference - sometimes combining several photos to make one painting. Digital technology has changed photography forever. I can go out and take a picture, make a print and start a painting from that photo - all in the same day. When I do paint on location it’s mostly to capture the mood and colour. These paintings are just colour sketches. This is something I wish I could do more often because it’s good exercise for an artist to experience the real thing. I like taking something ordinary and turning it into some thing extraordinary. I try to capture a moment and put it down for everyone else to experience. I paint almost every day and when I can’t, it feels unnatural – like something is missing. Because of my realistic style I can paint any subject that inspires me from busy modern city life to peaceful country landscapes. There have been a few times where I try and change my painting style but I always return to realism. This change often involves all kinds of different media and content. Sometimes the work is totally abstract inspired by music or feelings about current events. These paintings are done just for the experience of change and are usually not shown in galleries. Change in style is a learning experience. I learn something new from each painting I do no matter what style I am working in. Travel is also very important to my painting. Everywhere I go I take my camera and take as many photos as possible of places and objects that I think will make good paintings.
\We spent 5 months in England a few years ago and while there I painted the English landscape. This is an experience that can’t be done unless one has spent time there. The buildings, trees, light and colours are all so different. Now that I have been home for a few months the photos are important because they bring back the feelings I had about the places we visited.

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