Ian Fry was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1956. He studied illustration and design at the Glasgow School of Art, graduating in 1978. After freelancing as a book and advertising illustrator for several years in the UK and Germany, he moved to Canada in 1985.

For 10 years he worked as an independent illustrator from a studio in Vancouver’s Gastown. In 1995 he decided to devote more energy to his painting and rented a studio in Kleewyck, on the Capilano River in North Vancouver. Here he painted several very large commissions, primarily for private collectors in Japan.

He moved to Bowen Island in 1996 and works both from a home studio on Bowen Island’s west side and in a studio in Artisan Square near Snug Cove.

Ian’s paintings are in corporate and private collections throughout Canada and the US as well as in Germany, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and the UK.

Artist's Statement

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To me, my art is about nailing the subject. How this may be achieved is a challenge that shapes my view of the world through close observation of daily life. A fleeting glimpse that epitomises a subject close to my heart often sparks an idea that is structured by associated subjects and rapidly resolves into the overall feel of a painting.

I sometimes find myself unconsciously regarding a mountain range, city layout or perhaps some people as if from different viewpoints. I then automatically build a variable three-dimensional image in my mind and store it there for future reference. Those around me at the time often observe this as daydreaming.

Take the idea of a river, for example – its long journey and the life it holds. My interest may be aroused by seeing autumn leaves swirling downstream and out of sight, or noticing sunlight flashing on swift water. Outside my frame of view, though, there may be a kid sitting on a big rock on one side and shadows of salmon on the other and this speaks of clean water and changing lives.

These things, however fleeting, remain with me in my mind, their presence shaping what will hopefully be a strong painting. The composition, colour and motion, when formed on canvas are very much a part of me through the experience of being there. And if in the end this is passed onto others, the work, for me, has succeeded.