Elora, ON, Canada fine artist Phil Irish #artistaday

* All images used with permission. Please do not distribute without first contacting the artist.

About Phil

Irish has been asking people to draw maps for him. Participants diagram a place of personal significance: perhaps where a decision was taken, or an accident happened, or a place of solace returned to again and againIrish follows these maps, full of curiosity and empathy. At the destination point — significant to another but new to him — Irish draws, takes photographs, and takes time to explore.

The map and Irish’s response to the place are fused as one artwork. Once the process is complete, the finished works spark imagination and wonder in those who engage them.

The visual languages in the paintings are diverse and rich, taking the cues from each individual place. There is often a collision between representation and some form of abstraction that points to a metaphorical reading of the scene. There is joy in the sensuality of the medium, pulling the viewer deeper into the experience of viewing, interpreting, and exploring.

Follow Phil

Phil's website

Phil appears in the following Top 10 lists

View All Top 10's

'Canada'

'2009'

10 of 22 reactions displayed

Show all reactions

"i love these images."

"Got to love this artist's work. Enjoy how the images show reveal themselves."

"I beleive I've seen your map paintings at The Drake in Toronto. I enjoyed the idea of having this set up in the rooms and the archiving of places one's visited in your painting. It does make the suggestion of travel and the memory of where one's been more poignant."

"Wonderful, original pieces. Great to see work that makes one want to see more."

"Your art is amazing, Phil!"

"Phils paintings always make me wanna go to the site of his inspiration."

"Hi there. It has been good to read the comment on my work here. Perhaps I will add a bit of info into the mix.- The inserted diagram and "screenshot" in these paintings are digital prints of other people's stories. My work starts with the memories of other people about specific places. So you can see their writing, but my painting draws out themes that relate - I hope - to everyone.- They are not murals, but oil on panel, to be hung on a wall like other paintings.- The Blue Stripes: the note there is about a forested area that could be developed into a business park. When I followed the persons map, I found trees marked with blue spraypaint where they were going to log. I thought little marks of blue would not register strongly enough, so I made the blue geometric zips that break the organic landscape.- Sorry for such a long note! Enjoy!"

"These pieces remind me of fractured light, especially the second piece. I love the idea of making something traditionally beautiful into something abstract but still just as beautiful. I also believe they are murals...explaining the odd "screens" in the center."

"I think the pictures are murals..."

"The pieces remind me of fractured light, especially the bottom piece. Gorgeous and enlightening."