Artist Ranch Project 2012

Dave Casey

Dave Casey is originally from San Francisco and holds a Master’s Degree in Metalsmithing and Jewellery with a minor in Painting. He has taught at the Alberta College of Art and Design for over thirty years, in the areas of drawing, painting and sculpture.

“I have painted with acrylics for many years and find that the inherent limitations of the medium no longer have conscious meaning for me. During the past ten years I have included digital photographs as a contrast to abstract paint. My painting practice is one of meditation. I am interested in the relationship of one thing to another, just in the same way as I am interested in the relationships we as humans create. Sometimes the work is random associations, sometimes it develops from an idea that might be thought of as naturally organized. Usually a painting begins with the sight of two or more shapes, objects or colours, which vibrate with interest. The primary relationship is established then ideas and images come to mind, which are developed on canvas. I rarely sketch for a painting, allowing the experience to be immediate. As the work progresses, the original vision becomes less important and the painting finds a strategy for completion. The paintings are silent, bearing witness to the stories we have to tell. While I recognize my experiences from which these stories are told, I would hope the paintings create an opportunity for the viewer to hear how he or she creates personal stories. Objects and surface come together as sites for remembrance, the spaces in-between serve as a location for stories.”