-Story by Angela Cowan
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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Behind creeping ivy and sprawling holly bushes, at the bottom of an octagonal tower in a house built well over a century ago, artist Brad Pasutti creates labyrinthine paintings that straddle the borders between dreams and reality.
Figures blend into unusual architecture or fade partly into translucence, while disembodied hands and limbs provoke that surreal sense of disjointedness often found in our subconscious minds.
The artist himself is soft-spoken and reserved as he moves through his home. Walls covered to the inch with pieces from local artists, shelves of figurines and models from classic works of art and his husbandB次元官网网址檚 astonishing mermaid collection speak to the coupleB次元官网网址檚 passion and dedication to the world of visual art.
He sets down a cup of tea and takes a chair in his studio next to a four-foot-tall painting, glancing at the piece.
B次元官网网址淚 hope to achieve some qualities of the dream,B次元官网网址� says Pasutti of his work. B次元官网网址淒reams were very important to me. ItB次元官网网址檚 so different than the waking world.B次元官网网址�
In dreams, we jump from thought to thought, flitting between ideas that donB次元官网网址檛 always have a clear connection. Stare at one of PasuttiB次元官网网址檚 larger-than-life pieces in person and youB次元官网网址檒l find your eye roaming from detail to detail, unable to focus on any one thing for long. ItB次元官网网址檚 a reflection of the chaotic state of our slumbering minds, but also the wandering nature of daydreaming.
ItB次元官网网址檚 what Pasutti calls the B次元官网网址減olyphony of beingB次元官网网址� and relates to how people can be out in the world doing ordinary things, but our minds are constantly moving from one thought to the next, propelled by memories, the things we see, conversations we have, even music we hear.
B次元官网网址淚 want my paintings to be about whatB次元官网网址檚 going on in peopleB次元官网网址檚 minds,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淰ery few people are just in the moment.B次元官网网址�
PasuttiB次元官网网址檚 formal training started with a three-year honours diploma in sculpture from the Kootenay School of Art, completed in 1979, after which he achieved a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Victoria in 1983. He was greatly inspired by Hieronymus Bosch, as well as Escher, Picasso and others. His original goals included researching conservation of artwork, but the intricacies of the science took him too far from the art itself.
B次元官网网址淚 realized I wasnB次元官网网址檛 into the sciences,B次元官网网址� he says. Though fascinated by lay science, the details of conservation B次元官网网址渟eemed too removed from the actual process of doing art.B次元官网网址�
The B次元官网网址済eekyB次元官网网址� side of painting continued to appeal, however, and the actual construction of the pigments attracted his interest. With his newest series, Pasutti has been experimenting with different mediums to mix with the oils to B次元官网网址渟ee how they behave.B次元官网网址�
Linseed oil, a common base in oil paints, can be B次元官网网址渓ight and flowing or heavy and viscous,B次元官网网址� he says, B次元官网网址渁nd that has a huge influence on how youB次元官网网址檙e working.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭he technological or geeky part is a whole different part,B次元官网网址� he says, becoming animated as he talks about the ingredients used: casein, egg, plant derivatives. B次元官网网址淭he actual handling of paint, I want to explore that too. They donB次元官网网址檛 teach you that in school.B次元官网网址�
But before he even begins work with his hand-ground colours, he starts his process by taking hundreds (if not thousands) of photos and then cutting and arranging them digitally to form a draft image heB次元官网网址檒l work from.
| Artist Brad Pasutti in his Victoria studio. Don Denton photography |
His newest works-in-progress explore youth and wonder.
B次元官网网址淚 saw a small bush hedge that had a little dip down into the grass,B次元官网网址� he says of his inspiration. B次元官网网址淐hildhood sees those as magical spaces. I wanted to capture childhood.B次元官网网址�
After enlisting the help of his great-nephew and niece as models, Pasutti is now in the digital draft stage, discovering the stories the images tell with each click of his mouse. Though, thereB次元官网网址檚 no guarantee the final piece will look anything like the drafts, he says.
As often happens in creative pursuits, the project takes on its own personality and the images B次元官网网址渒ind of growB次元官网网址� as Pasutti begins to work with actual paints.
B次元官网网址淥nce I start painting, it becomes an object, and thereB次元官网网址檚 a dialogue between the works,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e had works where what I started withB次元官网网址lmost none of that actually ends up on the painting.B次元官网网址�
And unexpected figures sometimes creep in as well. In several of PasuttiB次元官网网址檚 works, familiar faces from one of the artistB次元官网网址檚 favourite pieces, BoschB次元官网网址檚 The Garden of Earthly Delights, kept appearing as he worked, sometimes to his chagrin.
But B次元官网网址渢he painting has to go in its own direction, and sometimes it surprises you.B次元官网网址�
Inspired by a family with great respect for the arts, Pasutti has been exploring different perspectives since childhood.
B次元官网网址淢y father was a poet and a writer,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淗e used to bring art books home all the time. And my uncle went to art school. He was like a big brother to me.B次元官网网址�
They encouraged Pasutti to explore his natural inclinations to view the world on a slant, and helped sow the seeds for his work to come.
As a child, Pasutti would walk around his home with a mirror pointed at the ceiling, seeing how the world was turned upside down. And from early childhood he would often dream of being in the depths of a labyrinth, having found secret doors in his home, or hidden floors and spaces.
B次元官网网址淚 was always so happy,B次元官网网址� he says. B次元官网网址淚 enjoy just wandering.B次元官网网址�
These days, Pasutti lives every day in his art. Inspiration strikes while walking the dog, wandering library stacks, even working on his iPhone.
B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 always working,B次元官网网址� he says with a laugh. He still dreams occasionally of labyrinths and secret places B次元官网网址� his love of a complicated unknown as strong as ever.
