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Winnipeg Free Press

Diversified roles in society shape Winnipeg painter Brian Hunter's work and process

Brian Hunter's multiple roles within society inform the works in his current exhibition, On Shaky Ground, at 226 Gallery, located at 226 Main St. It's his first solo show in seven years. The 22 oils, created in response to 'the current shifting and uncertain atmosphere,' are a departure from the artist's previous work. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS As a parent, painter and police officer — Brian Hunter juggles a demanding career and his passions. Nine years ago Hunter snagged top spot at the RBC Canadian Painting Competition. He spent a year in an art residency at the Gwangju Museum of Art in South Korea, and has shown in South Korea, Spain, Montreal and Toronto. Pursuing art full-time seemed a natural progression but his longing to start a family placed him in a quandary — would he be able to juggle his artistic and parental desires? 'For the longest time I wanted to be a professional artist; that was always my goal. I reached a point where I was starting to have some success with my career but at the same time I wanted to be a father, to have kids and go through those experiences,' Hunter says. As a young man Hunter was willing to make the sacrifices required to become a successful artist — but his perspective has since shifted. 'As you get older life kind of takes over. Having a stable job is important to me. At the end of the day, what does an artist want? Commercial success, money and popularity, or to just be able to paint every day?' he asks. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Hunter says when he paints he's inspired by the immediacy expressed by his young sons when they create art. He is now making art that excites him. Art he wants to make, rather than work he thinks he is supposed to be making. 'I'm trying to go back to what it felt like being a teenager in my basement, staying up late, playing around with paint, just seeing what can happen. It doesn't necessarily need to fit into any other context other than this is who I am,' he explains. Grids — Hunter's signature motif, some would say — remain, but are obscured, oils are smeared over lines, colour deliberately and disobediently refuses to stay in its lane. Painting on wood or sometimes MDF, he works instinctively, inspired by the immediacy expressed by his young sons when they create art. 'It's not like they look at the page and go 'what am I going to make?' The pencil goes down on the paper and they just don't stop… that's the feeling I want to have,' he says. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Hunter's paint is daubed on generously, mixed straight from the tube without aid of solvents – resulting in thick and textured layers smeared on with brushes' worn-down bristles. Paint is daubed on generously, mixed straight from the tube without aid of solvents — he has eliminated them from his practice — resulting in thick and textured layers smeared on with brushes' worn-down bristles. 'Now that I have small children (ages three and five) I've been very cautious of the harm some artists' materials can cause. The result is my brushes are always dirty because I can't clean them,' he says. 'I don't invest in the most expensive materials because I know I'm going to destroy them pretty quickly. They dry out and they're like a rock but then they create all these interesting textures. You can really see the teeth of the brushes cut through the paint. I would never be able to accomplish that with an expensive clean brush.' Parenting has also left its mark on his creative process; painting is sandwiched between school runs, bedtimes and the hours he logs as a detective with the Winnipeg Police Service. Balancing his roles can be tricky, he admits, but Hunter is first and foremost an artist; policing is what he does for a living, painting is who he is. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Painter Brian Hunter shows the wooden canvases he uses to paint on in his basement studio. 'I was talking to my son, he knew I worked as a detective, he had some concept of what that means, and my wife said 'Oh, you know, Daddy's also an artist'. And his face just lit up. Everyone has an idea of what it means to be an artist; it doesn't matter who you are, where you come from or what your experience is. And I think that is inspiring and it inspires something in people. 'My role in society is different when I'm an artist. I find it very freeing. I feel I am more in my own shoes when I am doing it,' he says. (On Shaky Ground runs until June 8 at 226 Gallery, located at 226 Main St.) MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Hunter's art reflects his desire to create instinctively. AV KitchingReporter AV Kitching is an arts and life writer at the Free Press. She has been a journalist for more than two decades and has worked across three continents writing about people, travel, food, and fashion. Read more about AV. Every piece of reporting AV produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.