Dante's Heart
An Interview with Aaron Paquette
DH: One of the questions you always ask in your interviews is how the subject
decided to become an artist. What is your answer to that question?
AP: I was born that way! As simple as the answer is, it's the truth. It was always
something that governed everything I ever did. I considered more practical
careers, but nothing ever came of those thoughts. Art has always called me and
I was never really happy if I wasn't following where it led. So in the end it wasn't
a difficult decision: ignore your passion and be unhappy, or go for it and find joy
(even in the mandatory starving years).
DH: Could you tell us about the part of the world that you call home? How
has your corner of Canada affected your work? What there do you find
especially beautiful and how has it become a part of you?
AP: I live in the province of Alberta in Western Canada. It's so big it has
desert, parkland, boreal forest, mountain ranges, prairies, lakes, bogs and rivers.
The one unifying aspect of these diverse landscapes and climates is the big sky
- and sunshine. Like any animal, I am a product of my surroundings. There is an
intense loneliness to all this space and people tend to gather in the cities when
they can. The winters are long, cold and arduous. We get through them, but the
summer is a raging fire! We live in the brief four months of warmth with an
intensity that often surprises visitors, but we're like the resurrected man: we have
a chance to live again and we aren't going to waste it.
I find the stillness of a prairie valley, carved out by a strong river and bordered
on both sides by forest to be magical and inspiring. There is an abundant
concentration of life and the overpowering energy of the mountains is left
behind. The unrelenting vastness of the grasslands is diminished. Instead, there
is a meeting of all worlds. Water, sand, earth, hills, sky. And then life. What a
great balance!
DH: What of your own artworks resonate strongest with you? What pieces
have been the greatest learning experiences, or do you think of most often?
AP: The process of painting is the greatest learning experience for me. There
is an excitement and sense of satisfaction in a finished work, yes, but the
thinking, planning, adjustments - contrasted with the freedom, chaos and
randomness that make up the creation of the work....that's what I think of most
often. A painting on a wall is no longer a great challenge to me. It's a
culmination, and hopefully it carries enough of the beautiful struggle within it's
lines and movement that it communicates with another person. But when it
comes to my own work, I prefer to see it off, and instead welcome the work of
others into my life.
DH: What are some works by others you have especially enjoyed?
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DH: One of the questions you always ask in your interviews is how the subject
decided to become an artist. What is your answer to that question?
AP: I was born that way! As simple as the answer is, it's the truth. It was always
something that governed everything I ever did. I considered more practical
careers, but nothing ever came of those thoughts. Art has always called me and
I was never really happy if I wasn't following where it led. So in the end it wasn't
a difficult decision: ignore your passion and be unhappy, or go for it and find joy
(even in the mandatory starving years).
DH: Could you tell us about the part of the world that you call home? How
has your corner of Canada affected your work? What there do you find
especially beautiful and how has it become a part of you?
AP: I live in the province of Alberta in Western Canada. It's so big it has
desert, parkland, boreal forest, mountain ranges, prairies, lakes, bogs and rivers.
The one unifying aspect of these diverse landscapes and climates is the big sky
- and sunshine. Like any animal, I am a product of my surroundings. There is an
intense loneliness to all this space and people tend to gather in the cities when
they can. The winters are long, cold and arduous. We get through them, but the
summer is a raging fire! We live in the brief four months of warmth with an
intensity that often surprises visitors, but we're like the resurrected man: we have
a chance to live again and we aren't going to waste it.
I find the stillness of a prairie valley, carved out by a strong river and bordered
on both sides by forest to be magical and inspiring. There is an abundant
concentration of life and the overpowering energy of the mountains is left
behind. The unrelenting vastness of the grasslands is diminished. Instead, there
is a meeting of all worlds. Water, sand, earth, hills, sky. And then life. What a
great balance!
DH: What of your own artworks resonate strongest with you? What pieces
have been the greatest learning experiences, or do you think of most often?
AP: The process of painting is the greatest learning experience for me. There
is an excitement and sense of satisfaction in a finished work, yes, but the
thinking, planning, adjustments - contrasted with the freedom, chaos and
randomness that make up the creation of the work....that's what I think of most
often. A painting on a wall is no longer a great challenge to me. It's a
culmination, and hopefully it carries enough of the beautiful struggle within it's
lines and movement that it communicates with another person. But when it
comes to my own work, I prefer to see it off, and instead welcome the work of
others into my life.
DH: What are some works by others you have especially enjoyed?
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