Waaaaaay back in the beginning of the summer, I stopped in at Scott Bertram’s home studio. Technically, it’s a detached garage. But I must say, as someone who likes to spread out when creating, I was a bit jealous! It’s a huge open space with great big white walls and all the tools he needs.
I asked Scott if he had a plan when he dives into creating one of his (often) large scale abstract paintings. He said he often has colours in mind, but as for the composition it is mostly intuitive. If you’ve ever seen Scott’s paintings in real life, I think you’d agree that they are quite interesting. It’s easy to get lost in them. Because there are no representational images, there is a lot of room for interpreting what you see. I, for example, felt like I sat in a spaceship looking out at the stars in one. Another felt like there was an allusion to war.
A Digital Feel
Another thing that struck me about Scott’s art was the digital feel to his paintings. They are definitely not digitally made – he uses printmaking techniques and an air brush – but the seamless integration of different colours and implied textures is just… cool! They have a completely different feel than most “traditional” paintings.
Scott is doing a couple of classes at the studio this fall. He’s doing a one day workshop called “Abstraction in Acrylics”. There, he will be going over various ways to create meaningful, abstract works. You can find more info here.
Scott will also be teaching a 5 week class called “Exploring Your Individual Practise”. This class is for people who have experience with their chosen medium and would like to dive deeper into their own practise. This is a great opportunity to get individualized help from a fantastic teacher! Registration here.
Scott’s website: https://scottbertram.
