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Rob Redfearn - Visual Artist (b. Hamilton, Ontario, Canada April 22, 1959)

Bachelor of Arts Degree (Honours), Art History and Studio Art, University of Western Ontario, (London, ON) 1982

Masters of Business Administration (MBA), Marketing and Finance, University of Toronto, (Toronto, ON)1985

Raised in Burlington, Ontario. Currently residing in Lumberton, NC since 1996

Studied drawing under Roly Fenwick.

Studied painting under Duncan Dekergameux and Patterson Ewen. Redfearn works in a variety of mediums. Most notably: acrylic on canvas, acrylic on wood panels, ink on paper, graphite on paper.

Although creating pieces since college, Redfearn did not start to work prolifically until 1996 upon his arrival in North Carolina. "The change of landscape from what I was used to in Ontario was quite profound. The way the light shone on the forests and fields was completely different than what I grew up with, what I was used to... It made me take another look at what I was doing with my art and start something new.", said Redfearn. His earlier works included figures, nudes, still-lifes and some landscapes. Redfearn harks back to his studies at UWO's Art Department under Patterson Ewen. "He (Ewen) created some masterful works on plywood. He liked landscapes, which we all of course thought were boring at the time, but now I can see what he found in them to be so alluring as subject matter". Ewen was nationally renowned for his gouged plywood paintings. Redfearn's series of paintings on pine panels is reminiscent in some ways to Ewen's works. In these works, many of which are landscapes, he paints on the surface of the wood and then cuts into it with a small router to create highlights and lowlights which give character and a graphic overlay to the more impressionistic brush strokes beneath. The combination of line "drawing" with the paint creates an atmosphere as well as gives a lyrical expression to the pieces. Redfearn's work on canvas are also largely landscapes. In these he mixes mediums, often combining plaster dust with his paints to give depth and texture to the painted surface itself. The effect is to render each piece as if it has been around for centuries. The dust actually is inclined to chip away and the paintings themselves have a character separate from that of the artist. "I like the idea of painting a kind of modern style and then having it appear OLD. I like contradictions in art, its the contradictions that keep me interested in looking at any piece by any artist", says Redfearn. One series of panel paintings is Redfearn's USFLAGs. "I recall studying Jasper Johns FLAG. It struck a chord in me.. of course, I lived in Canada at the time and my classmates I think thought it was mostly American glorification, but there was texture and feeling to it which stood out because the image itself was so every-day.". Redfearn's series of USFLAGs is somewhat reminiscent of the New York artist, if only because he chooses to use the same imagery. Redfearn's work, however uses the gouged lines seen in his landscape works to add a lyrical feel to each piece. The router lines are not straight, they move with the grain of the wood to a large degree. So the substrate of the piece is as much a part of the art and process as the rest of the art. In looking at Redfearn's art you can measure each step of his process and his paintings will keep you looking.

Redfearn's work can be found in various galleries. Most of his works are in private collections. He commissions to do "portraits" of buildings (beach homes, businesses, restaurants, houses, etc) on a limited basis.