- Story by Sean McIntyre Photography by Don Denton
Jeremy Herndl害羞草研究所檚 final piece of advice before providing the address of his Victoria studio is to dress for the weather. Unusual, perhaps, but not too surprising for someone who specializes in vast oil paintings of primordial forestscapes.
He works out of a nondescript, detached suburban garage behind his home. The space echoes with the song of winter birds floating in from the glade out back, and the cold winter air sinks into the room害羞草研究所檚 hard concrete floor. Jeremy害羞草研究所檚 paintings cover the walls, like windows to a lost and changing world. Clad to endure the elements, Jeremy sits at his desk, finishing up a conversation with a supplier about an order of new canvases.
害羞草研究所淥ne day I just have to figure out heating because it害羞草研究所檚 so uncomfortable here for people,害羞草研究所� he says apologetically when he gets off the phone. 害羞草研究所淚 do bundle up when I害羞草研究所檓 working in here. It害羞草研究所檚 just like when I害羞草研究所檓 out there.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淥ut there害羞草研究所� is where Jeremy finds inspiration and undertakes the bulk of his artistic work. It is the wooded spaces in and around Victoria, areas where pockets of ancient forest persist within an increasingly developed and industrialized landscape.
Dog walkers, bird watchers and hikers in Saanich害羞草研究所檚 Francis/King Regional Park or in and around Port Renfrew might have spotted Jeremy at work. Though he may work in isolated spaces, he害羞草研究所檚 hard to miss.
Jeremy scouts locations by walking into the forest and sketching his surroundings until he lands upon a spot where he feels compelled to settle down. Whereas many artists would then bundle up those sketches and work on them from the comfort of a sheltered and preferably heated studio space, Jeremy goes home to prepare his gear for a return trip to the woods.
害羞草研究所淲ithin a kilometre walk is my limit because it害羞草研究所檚 a bit of a pain to carry all that stuff,害羞草研究所� he says.
Jeremy will retrace his steps to set up his easel, canvas and oils so that he may paint throughout the day and pack things up at dusk, only to repeat the process the following day. The routine will continue for about two weeks, a period in which Jeremy feels he can adequately capture a setting害羞草研究所檚 changing form and its subtle effect on him as observer and painter.
害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檓 out there and I can smell the trees and appreciate the light changes. I learn to really pay attention. In a way I feel like working outside is really special because these places get a chance to express themselves,害羞草研究所� he says.
害羞草研究所淏ecause I害羞草研究所檓 out there for days and days, I start to feel the little changes that happen and realize that maybe it害羞草研究所檚 not a one-way thing. It becomes a back-and-forth kind of thing. The weather starts to have an effect. It makes the paint thick or it makes the paint thin. Or the rain comes and it makes the paint slip off and stick somewhere else. It害羞草研究所檚 almost as if the place is participating. I really love the possibility that this process of making a painting feels collaborative.害羞草研究所�
Years ago, when he was eight years old, Jeremy害羞草研究所檚 son looked upon his father害羞草研究所檚 work as short movies. These seemingly static representations of landscape encompass the continuous play of light, wind, moisture and growth found within each setting.
害羞草研究所淚 would hope that somebody could appreciate that liveliness,害羞草研究所� he says.
In his recent works, Jeremy focuses largely on the natural. This new trail represents a transition from attempts to convey the liminal spaces between the constructed and the natural that have characterized much of Jeremy害羞草研究所檚 previous work. In his very earliest artistic efforts, undertaken as a young boy who害羞草研究所檇 moved from an off-grid family cabin near Squamish to downtown Toronto, Jeremy recalls painting many images of trains pointed towards the hills and forests. More recent projects comprise scenes of distant glass-clad condominiums glimpsed through ancient firs and swaying cedars, views that are characteristic of green spaces that endure amidst the built landscape of Vancouver, Surrey and other suburbs of the Lower Mainland.
害羞草研究所淲here do we really draw the line? Where does nature end and the human start? Is there such a thing as wilderness or is wilderness something a human could never know because as soon we encounter it, it ceases to be wild?害羞草研究所� he asks. 害羞草研究所淚害羞草研究所檝e always wanted to draw that blur, to paint in that blur where humans and wilderness meet because I think it exemplifies the concept that humans are actually nature.
害羞草研究所淚 think that the old dualist thinking about humans and nature as completely separate has brought us to this situation now, where we find ourselves in such ecological trouble.害羞草研究所�
The human element may persist in the guise of his presence as the artist and observer, yet the canvas is now exclusively dedicated to representing Jeremy害羞草研究所檚 close commune with the forest. It represents an opportunity for creative expression, spiritual fulfillment and existential satisfaction, however fleeting that may be.
害羞草研究所淚 really want to focus on the forest because it becomes a kind of meditation,害羞草研究所� he says. 害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 a very satisfying experience to hear the creatures and the forest and to have a conversation with these places, and then to offer that conversation out to people at this stage, I feel, is an important job.害羞草研究所�
People in the Victoria area can glimpse the result of Jeremy害羞草研究所檚 conversations when his work is presented at Oak Bay害羞草研究所檚 Winchester Galleries in May and June. Exhibitions are also slated for Calgary, Alta. and London, Ont. later in 2020. Further information about Jeremy害羞草研究所檚 current projects can be obtained at or on Instagram at @jeremyherndl.
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
Like Boulevard Magazine on and follow them on
