ABOUT ROY TIBBITS
“I live in the heart of the Saint John River Valley which provides an endless inspirational supply of nature at its best – not only the seasons but also the fast-changing local industries of farming, forestry and fishing,” artist Roy Tibbits writes in his own words. “Old derelict buildings, outdated machinery and changing modes of transportation – they are all relics of the past now splendidly littering our landscape as glowing reminders of their previous importance.”
Roy has lived in Carleton County, New Brunswick his entire life. He was born there, attended school there, owned a small business, and has since retired there. One day in 1990, well into adulthood, he picked up an art book at a local discount bookseller on watercolour painting and a passion was born.
Roy explains how he is self-taught, never having taken art lessons or especially inspired to paint at an early age. Instead, he carried that first book around with him everywhere and endlessly studied it until someone bought him a child’s watercolour set for Christmas that same year. Therein followed gifts from family that included special paper and semi-professional watercolour sets that would help him develop the watercolour techniques he admired. “Watercolour, it has a different feel to me than any other medium. I’m fascinated by the look, the transparency of it.”
Roy’s favourite subjects are the world as he has known and experienced it -- the forests, farms and fields. One reviewer writes “the viewer is always reminded of the passage of time and our evolving relationship with nature” when they experience Roy’s work. A member of several national associations, including being an elected member of the Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour, his award-winning work has been shown across Canada.
For Open Water 100, Roy chose “Open Water” as his entry. It depicts how the Spring ice in a wooded area he frequently walks had just gone from the water. “You can see just a bit of ice at the back of the pond,” he says. “I travel those woods a lot,” says Roy, where the ashes of a beloved dog are buried, “and appreciate witnessing that timeless changing landscape.”
Weekly until September 9, read about the six Maritime artists featured in the Open Water 2025 exhibition organized by the Canadian Society of Water Colour Painters, on display from September 11 to October 2.