From the earliest cave painters some 40,000 years ago to today’s modern impressionistic artists there is a common thread that binds the colourful fabric of their creations. That thread is freezing the present, making time stand still, creating a moment reserved for reflection. Indelibly imprinted upon the mind, that moment becomes a bridge between past and present to be called into consciousness at will.
One man who has the ability to create such moments through his art is W. H. Webb. Webb is one of Canada’s most recognizable and accomplished painters of mountain scenes and prairie landscapes. He makes his home in Forestburg, Alberta and works out of his studio on Main Street.
Webb’s medium is acrylic on canvas and his application of paint is one that is more akin to the traditional school of watercolour painting, a technic uniquely his own. The style is described as painterly realism. He meticulously applies countless minute points and markings to the canvas merging them Ito one salient masterpiece. Through great attention to detail he brings to life the otherwise mundane, uniting space, colour and shapes into rhythmic harmony.
He has been painting for over three decades and his work is sold internationally by four art galleries across Western Canada. Depending on size, the prize tag for one of his paintings can be between $2,000 and 14,000 and his work is on the radar of collectors and those who appreciate his art alike. A career highlight came for Webb in 1997 when one of his paintings was selected to represent the Official State Collection of Canada and hangs in Rideau Hall in Ottawa, Ontario. This painting was declared to be “of Outstanding Significance and National Importance” by the Canadian Government Cultural Review Board.
Recently Webb has been working on a collection of 15 paintings of fall and winter prairie scenes. These paintings will be presented in a solo exhibition at West End Gallery in Edmonton From April 27 to May 9, 2019. More than mere paintings Webb’s work is timeless; it unites past with present and is a reminder to notice the beauty and serenity this region has to offer.
-Story submitted by Joe Hartung