Began painting in 1958, at the age of thirty.
Took art classes in Montreal from Patrick Landsley, Guy Viau, Moe Reinblatt, and others.
Attended art workshop at Mount Allison University in 1960, given by L.P. Harris and Jacques de Tonnancour.
Also in 1960, visited Alex Colville in his studio and began corresponding with him about my paintings.
Spent the 1962-63 academic year at Mount Allison, taking selected second and third year Fine Arts courses from Harris, Colville, and Helen Dow.
In 1966 bought a house with ten acres of land near Sackville.
In May 1968 set up my studio in the house and spent a year painting full time.
Moved to the house permanently in 1974.
My university degrees were in Science and Engineering and I have spent most of my life working as an engineer, first in the aircraft industry, then in the appliance industry.
I have been painting full time since 1992.

Colour is very important to me. When a potential subject for a painting catches my eye, it is usually because of the colours. I try to give equal emphasis to subject matter, spatial composition, and colour composition in my paintings. I also try to achieve a balance between the three-dimensional representation and the two-dimensional reality of the painting.

My subject matter is often a man-made object (a bridge, a ship, a building, etc.) in a relevant context; otherwise it is usually pure landscape. Figures and all extraneous material are omitted to avoid distracting the viewer from the intended object of attention.

I am very much interested in how the eye (or really the brain) perceives and interprets information. I try to determine how far the information supplied to the eye can be simplified while still leading the mind to make the correct Gestalt or interpretation.

I began painting at the age of thirty. Having a background in mathematics and engineering I tended to paint in a precise, realist manner, very unconventional at that time. I discovered the work of Alex Colville in 1960, and this was a great encouragement to me. I am fortunate to have attended Mount Allison University while he was still teaching. The other major influences on my work have been Georges Seurat and Charles Sheeler.

Text by Glenn Adams

1969 Roberts Gallery, Toronto
1977 Gallery One, Moncton
1982 Gallery One, Moncton
1983 New Brunswick Museum, Saint John
1983 Owens Art Gallery, Sackville
1996 City of Saint John Gallery, Saint John

1963 Banfer Gallery, New York
1964 Banfer Gallery, New York
1964 Galerie Agnés Lefort, Montreal
1965 Banfer Gallery, New York
1966 London Public Library and Art Museum, London, Ontario
1969 Universities of Guelph and Waterloo
1972 I.L. Peretz School, Calgary
1973 I.L. Peretz School, Calgary
1974 Owens Art Gallery, Sackville
1997 Fog Forest Gallery, Sackville
1997 Peter Buckland Gallery, Saint John
1998 Peter Buckland Gallery, Saint John
1998 Moncton Gallery
2000 Marion McCain Atlantic Art Exhibition, Fredericton

Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
C-I-L
City of Moncton Collection
Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, Guelph
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
New Brunswick Art Bank
New Brunswick Museum
Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University
UNB Art Centre

in New York, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, Winnipeg, Fredericton, Moncton, Saint John, Sackville

homepage of Glenn Adams
e-mail: adamsg@nbnet.nb.ca