Spencer, George

George Spencer was born in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia and has lived in Halifax since graduating from Acadia University in 1980. George began to learn to draw in 2004 without any real past experience. He was immediately captivated by the magic of transforming a blank surface into a realistic image and devoted himself to developing his artistic skills. After a long period of drawing practice he began using watercolour to add colour to his work and then, on the encouragement of an established artist, began working in what is now his preferred medium: oil paint. While primarily self-taught, George has benefited from the advice and encouragement of friends who are professional artists and designers, along with the mentorship of a noted art historian and former gallery curator. In 2012, after almost a decade of practice and study, George began selling his work publicly, and has been a full-time painter for over a decade.

Artist Statement

I currently focus almost exclusively on the still-life genre. My strongest influence is the painters of the seventeenth century Dutch Golden Age, and, in particular, their mastery of the depiction of light and shadow. In my own work I combine everyday objects -  food, pottery, fabric  -  in interesting combinations of shapes and textures. I try to depict light moving across the objects in the composition, reflecting colour and creating shadows. All of this is in service to my main goal, which is to depict the beauty in the ordinary.