John Geeza

John began exhibiting in Toronto in 1998 with a series of tree drawings.  The old, large trees in their urban setting inspired him.  They were an embodiment of vital energy of a wilder nature - not only surviving, but resilient, enduring, and capable of lifting human spirits.

In his youth in anthracite mining Pennsylvania, he sought out the pockets of old hemlock groves that had somehow escaped destruction.  He felt grounded in their presence. Wilder places and their resident spirits still beckon him to paint.  His brush and pencil are frequently guided by the inner tuition of the natural landscape and experience of the ground beneath his feet.  His goal is to convey these energies to viewers, to prompt them to  protect the wilder things that are essential to us - to our souls and our bodies - lest they be destroyed.

John  has had his work shown at the Campbell Gallery in Montréal, the John B Aird and Praxis Galleries in Toronto, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the Wellington County Museum and the Barber Gallery in Guelph.  Although initially self taught by following Nicolaide’s Natural Way to Draw, he received coaching from Maggie McKee (a Hans Hoffman protegée) in Montréal, Graham Bibby in Toronto, and co-residents and visiting artists at the Vermont Studio Center.

He works mostly in acrylic and drawing materials, always beginning with preliminary studies done in the field or from life.

Copyright 2011 - John Geeza