Mike LATHROP
November 28 – January 28, 2024
Opening Reception Saturday, Dec 2, 1-3pm
Bio
Mike has always felt the impact of the landscapes that surround him, and enjoys exploring the outdoors on Vancouver Island. In his paintings, he captures his feeling of a moment in nature; and attempts to document the motion, the colour, the light, and the overall experience of taking in our natural environment.
Born and raised in Calgary, Mike Lathrop moved to Victoria to earn a degree in Visual Arts from the University of Victoria from 1990-94. After working in graphic design, motion graphics video, and internet programming in Vancouver, he returned to Victoria in 2006, and then to painting in 2016.
Mike lives with his spouse and two children in Victoria, BC. He works in his home studio, and sells original paintings and limited edition giclée prints.
Artist’s Statement
I am an abstract landscape painter. I paint images from places near where I live, on the West Coast of British Columbia, Canada, on Vancouver Island, in Victoria. When I paint, I communicate my feeling from a place, at a particular point in time, within the landscape.
My process begins when I am struck by my environment. I take it in, and feel how I am reacting to it. I focus on the motion, the sounds that surround me, the colour in the skies, the movement of the wind in the air that I breathe. I take a photograph. I use it as a visual reference, but more so, it reminds me of my experience. As I paint, it helps me remember what it felt like to be there.
I try with every finished work to create an experience for the viewer that evokes what I felt. I document my experience, and create a connection with the viewer by communicating my personal impression of the moment that my painting represents.
