Ian Fry − Original Paintings

Ian Fry has developed a fresh, unique style through technical mastery of his media, exceptional draftsmanship and a highly evolved sense of design. Uncannily aware of the physical universe, Fry's elemental approach to subject and composition is expressed through immaculate brushwork. The subtly archetypal images he creates often evoke an inner narrative in viewers that develops and deepens over time.
Painting of stairs leading to beach on Bowen Island

Many well-known artists use digital printing technology to produce original work from digital or photographic imagery, or to create fine art prints from original works of art created in traditional media.

With constant computer monitoring, the accuracy of placement and colour produces results that are a virtual continuous tone (no dots). Our supplier uses new, pigment-based archival inks and the highest quality substraight media. Utilizing an exclusive microcrystal encapsulation technology, each ink particle is coated with an acrylic polymer resin resulting in a near-spherical droplet shape that reflects light evenly and offers a wide gamut of true-to-life colour.

Ian Fry’s limited edition digital reproductions are printed on canvas or acid-free watercolour paper to brilliant effect. Fry has elected to produce small editions (50 or 100) on canvas to preserve the value of each print and ensure a sense of exclusivity for collectors of his work. The smaller images on watercolour paper are not numbered.

Since the technology eliminates deterioration in quality from one print to the next, artist’s proofs are made only when the supplier changes ink or other materials and the artist wishes to oversee the change for quality and accuracy. New images will be offered as limited edition giclée reproductions on a continual basis.

Note that some images are available in smaller sizes in open editions - these are not numbered, but are of equal quality. Feel free to ask if you would like to make a special order.

Click here to see available reproductions

Painting of big leaf maple tree

Ian's comments

 
1990 Images & Objects, BC Festival of the Arts, North Vancouver, BC
1994 Seymour Art Gallery, Discovery ’94 (Award of Merit, Blue Boat)
Harmony Arts Festival, West Vancouver, BC
1995 Images & Objects, BC Festival of the Arts, Kamloops, BC
Harmony Arts Festival, Art in the Park, West Vancouver, BC
1996 Gallery Nova, Vancouver, BC
Harmony Arts Festival, Art Beat, West Vancouver, BC
Ferry Building Gallery, A Reverence for the Land, Solo Show, West Vancouver, BC
1997 The Grove Gallery, Whistler, BC
Ferry Building Gallery, West Vancouver, BC, juried group show
Harmony Arts Festival, Art Beat, West Vancouver, BC
The Gallery, Bowen Island, joint show with one other artist
1998 The Grove Gallery Whistler, BC, featured artist February, 1998
At Home in the City, Vancouver, BC, showcase of art and design
Ferry Building Gallery, West Vancouver, BC, juried group show
Harmony Arts Festival, Art Beat, West Vancouver, BC
1999 Ferry Building Gallery, West Vancouver, BC
Juried group show Harmony Arts Festival, Art Beat, West Vancouver, BC
The Grove Gallery, Whistler, BC
The Gallery, Bowen Island, BC Earth, Water & Sky, solo show
2000-2001 The Grove Gallery, Whistler, BC
Exhibitions Gallery, Bowen Island, BC
Schooner Gallery, Tofino, BC
Federation Gallery, Granville Island, Vancouver, BC
Willowbend mural, Plano, Texas
2002 Fry / McKinnell Fine Art, Bowen Island, BC
Schooner Gallery, Tofino
Hambleton Fine Art, Vancouver, BC
Essence of the Sea, Living Oceans Society, traveling exhibit, Port McNeill, Alert Bay,
   Vancouver, Campbell River and Victoria Sept/02 through Feb/03
2003-2004 Ian Fry Fine Art Gallery, Bowen Island, BC
Exhibitions Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Vancouver Imageworks Gallery, Vancouver, BC
Pendulum Art Gallery (Splash), Bank of Hong Kong, Vancouver, BC
2005 Points of Migration - May 25th - June 11th 2006 at the Ferry Building Gallery
2006 Points of Migration at the Ferry Building Gallery
2008 Spirits of the West. The Gallery at Artisan Square, Bowen Island, BC
Painting of Rita's house on Bowen Island
18 June 2009: Listen to Ian being interviewed Sheryl MacKay from CBC Radio One
Painting of Orca Whales in Howe Sound
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Ian Fry
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Painting of Nisga'a canoe on beach

Original paintings and prints can be shipped anywhere in the world. Prints and paintings to be shipped are rolled in a PVC tube; shipping will be added to the purchase price. Mounting the canvas onto a wooden stretcher should be undertaken by a qualified framer.

Canvas prints and original paintings picked up in person at Fry's studio are mounted on a wooden stretcher. All of the digital reproductions are also available as open editions in smaller image sizes on 100% cotton, acid-free watercolour paper.

Please feel free to contact us to ask about reproducing your favourite images or to learn more about this printing process.

Prices will be quoted upon inquiry and are subject to change at any time.

Painting of bald eagle dreaming of salmon

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.

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.

Photograph of Ian Fry