BURNABY ARTS COUNCIL - Gary Liemen

Gary Liemen

Portrait by Gary Liemen

Gary Liemen returns to the Deer Lake Gallery with his most recent work which, he says, has improved immensely over the last few years. Gary Liemen’s subjects may be portraits, landscapes, cityscapes, or florals. And while his medium may remain constant, Gary Liemen uses a variety of brushes and unconventional materials such as razor blades, sandpaper, steel wool, string, sponges, toothpicks, to create unique effects in his paintings.

It helps me keep my sanity,” said Liemen, who turned to art when he got laid off from his cannery warehouse job of 25 years. “You have to have a passion.”

Throughout his youth, Liemen struggled with academics due to dyslexia. But in art class, he always excelled. At 16 years old, the frustrated student dropped out of school without having finished his Grade 8 credits. At 17, he enrolled at the Vancouver School of Arts and completed a four-year program with renowned local artist Jack Shadbolt as an instructor.

“He was great. What I liked about him was he didn’t give you any harsh criticism. He brought out the best. He was quite instrumental in inspiring me to do more art,” said Liemen, who blends watercolours with chalk and pastels using sponges, sandpaper and steel wool.

The 63-year-old artist is now proudly showing his paintings at New Westminster’s Heritage Grill on Columbia Street as part of B.C.’s Arts and Culture Week. On May 31, Liemen’s exhibit will move to Deer Lake Gallery for a Burnaby Arts Council solo show.

AT THE DEER LAKE GALLERY