I guess a large angry dude jumping into a crowd of Punks DOES constitute ‘art’… surprise, I’ve been accepted into CAPRAC!! Which, I think, is kind of a big deal.

“…[CAPRAC’s] primary responsibility is to increase the public awareness of artists, organisations and activities in our counties, to support their development and to invite the community to integrate cultural expression into its activities.”

— Conseil des arts Prescott Russell Arts Council (CAPRAC)

I have my own page on their website, with my own ‘Biography’ and ‘Artist Statement’ and everything — there are even four photos that, kind of, showcase what type of art I like to do… including “large dude flying into punk crowd”. And I have my headshot there as well. All of which is awesome! [you can see my CAPRAC page here]

Writing my ‘Biography’ was relatively easy, I just stole most of it from my About Page [link here]… as we artists are apt to do.

Biography: …blah blah blah blah… “my first job as a reporter / photographer / columnist was with Vankleek Hill’s weekly broadsheet, The Review [link here], while I was a student at VCI, VKH’s high school…” blah blah blah “…[s]ince 2010, I’ve been taking photos at Events surrounding the Hawkesbury and Vankleek Hill region…” blah blah blah [c]urrently I’m mostly an amateur photographer and father to my 16-year old son, Victor, and my eleven-year old son, Quintin.” blah blah blah.

It was much, much, much harder to write my “Artist Statement”… especially when I’m not sure what I do is “Art”, I mostly just walk around taking photos of random people and performers. One of my favourite photos that I’ve taken is of a Monster Truck [see it here]. Another is from the ‘Benjamin’s Circus’ in Hawkesbury, of a dude breathing fire [see it here]… then there was a shot from a wrestling match in Hawkesbury as well [see it here]. So here’s what I came up with…

“My artistic background lays mostly in News and Street Photography. When I was a child, I would set up construction scenes with my toys, then stand up and take photos of them — minus my feet, of course. When I showed the photos to others, they would believe the scenes were real, and that always fascinated me. As I grew up I would watch news programs and documentaries featuring photographers such as James Nachtwey, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Fred Herzog and, while I’m not comparing myself to them (that would be insane), they did inspire me to later on get involved in news and street photography. It wasn’t until a few years after I moved to Ottawa when I was able to afford having my own camera, a Pentax K-1000, and that’s when I started showing up at protests to take photos. Protests are generally remarkably dynamic and, if you live in a capital city, easy to find. When I moved to Toronto, my photography turned to that city’s (deep) underground punk scene.
A few years later, I moved back to Vankleek Hill and, in 2007, was presented by my family with the gift of my first Digital Camera, a Kodak EasyShare C533. In the beginning, my digital photography experience was mostly taking landscapes and gardens in VKH. A few years later, when I became comfortable with the technology, I began taking photos of large Events — which are very common in VKH, using a Nikon 5100, and my Canon SX720HS. Since then, I’ve maintained a years-long photographic record of Events on my website (vkhphotos.org) such as the Festival of Flavours, the legendary May Show, the VKH Agricultural Fair, and PorchFest. Over the years, many of my photos have been published in our local newspapers, on Event organizers Facebook pages, and their websites, and even in a few group Art Exhibitions.”

…so that’s it, I have an Artists Statement, and an Artist Biography, an Artist Headshot, and a page of my own as a member of an Artists Group, as well as a whole lot of black T-shirts, I’m perennially at a loss for money, and I do have the (capital D) Depression thing, so I’m at least 80% there. All I need now is a beret, even more blacks shirts, and a fanatically devoted patron who’s willing to sponsor my brilliance.

…anyway, the (slightly apocalyptic) photos below are actually on my CAPRAC Page, so just click on one to get the carousel started, and don’t forget to leave a comment… seriously, I’m an Artist now, so I thrive on your feedback, so let me know what you think. Thanks.

*The featured image above is of my son, Victor, admiring Erica Taylor’s awesome painting at the ‘Old Arbor Gallery’ [link to my interview with Erica here].