 Daniel Gagnon
I began experimenting with watercolor and gouache in junior college, and had produced an extensive body of work by the time of my undergraduate degree in Art History. Shortly thereafter, I began to work full time in television, where I naturally gravitated towards broadcast graphics and animation. I remember how at the time (mid 1980's), the new digital medium was so exciting to use that I progressively worked less and less in traditional media.
My career as a digital artist was a success by any standard. My work on a highly visual televised comedy series garnered Gemini Award (Canadian Emmy) nominations in 1988 and 1989. I won the award in 1988. In the following years, I became an art director, meaning I was doing a lot of top level storyboarding and animatics but very little actual design work myself. Time flew by, and one day a few years ago I came across my old paints and palettes and realized how much I'd missed getting my hands "dirty" with low tech, traditional media.
I began painting again, but the return was a frustrating experience to say the least. Years of reveling in the limitless possibilities of computer design had distanced me from the relatively unforgiving medium I once loved, watercolor. I needed new inspiration, a project that would help me get back into the fold as it were.
Enter Wanderlust.
Wanderlust is the codename I assigned to the project that got me painting again. The word has become accepted English usage, but is of course German. It simply describes a yearning or strong desire to travel or wander. Over the years, I had managed to do a fair amount of traveling, either for business or pleasure. A large stack of snapshots from these trips had accumulated. Going through them one day while struggling with my lack of inspiration for new paintings, things clicked into place - why not do a series of watercolors based on these photographs? Several were of interesting locales, or were competently enough composed. There was no rights issue, as they were my own photographs. Why not give it a try?
As I plunged into the project, I found that not only was I regaining my love of traditional painting - I had also found a "sellable" idea. Wanderlust in its present form derives from the idea that everyone has been on a trip they enjoyed at least once in their lives, and almost everyone has a forgotten snapshot or two of that trip buried somewhere. The first Wanderlust Exhibition
Hence this website. Here you can browse a wide selection of commissioned works as well as see an up-to-date catalogue of the (very few) works still in inventory and thus available for immediate purchase. While I'm quite proud of the available pieces, the true driving force behind Wanderlust is the commission model.
Because they capture intensely personal travel memories, each of my paintings are as unique as the photographs they are inspired by. Most of my commissions have come from clients wanting to surprise a loved one on a special occasion - birthdays, anniversaries, Christmas. Client testimony to the recipients' reaction has been universally and overwhelmingly positive on all 30 or so commissions to date.
If you're a new client and have only seen my artwork on this site, I realize that it can sometimes be difficult to order or purchase something as subjective as art over the Internet. In view of this, I offer you my double guarantee: 1) If you send me your picture, and I feel it is something I can satisfactorily interpret, I will create the watercolor version and send you a high-resolution electronic version for approval. While not a 100% foolproof process, I endeavour to render my digital captures as close to the real thing as possible. If you do not like what you see, you needn’t buy it. The piece will enter my private collection and that will be the end of the transaction; no money will have changed hands.
2) If you do approve the electronic version but are dissatisfied with the actual painting (a highly unlikely but still possible occurrence) simply return it to me and I will promptly refund your money, no questions asked. The only thing I would require in such an event would be that you pay for the return shipping, and that the work be packaged with the same sort of care I took in sending it.
People who have commissioned one of their photographs to be turned into a Wanderlust painting truly feel that they have recaptured a cherished memory, in a format fit for proud display in any room. Framing is left to the customer as it can be a very subjective process, particularly in terms of money spent.
Life runs by us very quickly. Inevitably, all that tends to remain of any given moment are fading memories. Why not capture and cherish yours?
Please see the Purchase Info and Artist statement sections for additional details.
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Daniel Gagnon
Luminous Realism
Québec
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artspan is contemporary art