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Graham was born in 1938 in Fort Vermilion, Alberta, his mother was Cree and his father was British. Being nomadic for most of his life, Graham has been traveling with his work between B.C. and Alberta these past few years.In his early years he lived in various centres in Alberta including Meander River, Fort Vermilion, Peace River and Yellowknife, N.W.T. He spent time with his Cree relatives living in the old ways and being with his grandfather, a herbalist and trapper, who lived close to nature with a simple way of life till death around 100 years of age.
His grandfather, who was a noted Cree shaman from Northern Alberta, has had the most influence on Graham and his works. The viewer is asked to "view and see" says the artist, "I do not wish to explain, as my pieces are for people to learn from as they progress through their own personal journey. If they do not struggle with the content of the pieces, how can they learn? Insight does not come like our instant society, just adda reason and all will be revealed." Graham embraces all that his grandfather taught him and was. His ways are Graham's except that this artist wishes to teach through his pieces, mental puzzles that engage the collector forever. Having met A.Y. Jackson as a youth in Yellowknife and enjoying sketching, he decided to attend the Alberta College of Art in 1965. After a year and a half, he was back on the road living in Victoria, Whitehorse, Queen Charlotte Islands, White Rock and across Canada to Montreal for Expo '67 and then spending some time in Fredericton, N.B. All the time studying and sketching people. Graham's sculptural pieces along with his oil paintings, are foremost mental catalysts for the viewer. All his pieces, except the most literal have, and always have been very stimulating to the fine art collector. The pieces, both oils and sculpture, are empowered to say the least, full of wisdom and mysticism both subtle and blatant. "For those who can see", says the artist, "they will never let them go but feed off of the inherent charge. Each piece is created to go to a place where it can do the most good." Graham's paintings create introspective thought, contemplative reasoning within the viewer. The complexity of the multi-image creates the feeling that there are many things around us that we cannot see but effect us in different ways on a daily basis. They work as a mental catalyst stimulating different thoughts often concerning subjects other than those that are depicted in the painting. Webster Galleries Inc. has been representing Graham Pettman in Alberta since 1982 and we continue to enjoy and look forward to new works and concepts from this artist. Graham's works have been placed in many collections in Canada, the United States and Europe, both corporate and private. |
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NEW! In the Gallery
