Biography of
Patrick Markle
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Patrick grew up in the Kawartha Lakes Region of Southern Ontario. Living in cottage country, he gained an appreciation for the Canadian wilderness at an early age. Patrick’s love of landscape, led him to the western shores of Lake Superior where he attended Lakehead University. After graduating with an Honours Bachelors of Fine Art, Patrick moved west and has been painting in Fernie BC for the past eleven years.With his use of smooth swirling line, dramatic light and form, his work focuses on the rhythm of the natural world and his place within it. In doing so a spirit of exploration and adventure dominates his paintings and reflects an outdoor based lifestyle which is ingrained in Canadian culture. Patrick’s work can be seen throughout the Kootenays and Western Canada.
Artist Statement
After hours of hiking, the air clears and the veil lifts revealing a sharp rocky mountain peak. I stand above a steep couloir covered by a fresh blanket of snow that beckons me to jump in. I take a moment to catch my breath and savour the quiet, tranquil beauty. My eyes scan the horizon filled with sharp white peaks stretching out endlessly around me. The wind shifts sending a chill down my back. It is time to leave my mark on the mountain.
When I return to my studio I am filled with the excitement of the day and begin painting the landscape that has impacted me. I am reminded that the mountains flow with their own rhythm. I am insignificant in these vast, harsh places. It is by recording their delicate intricacies that I find my place beyond them. In doing so I am recording the mountain culture which draws people west and keeps them here. I know that I am not the only person who loves to explore the mountains and valleys of the West. Through painting, I also know that no one is impacted by mountain culture the way I am.
Blue is the colour which dominates my work. It is a truly multifarious colour that can be warm and inviting or cool and atmospheric. Blue is the shadow which allows the complexity of form to be revealed. Blue is liquid, the essence of water, always shifting and rolling in smooth rhythmic pattern. It is this liquid rhythm that I capture in my work. I cover the canvas with smooth, clean line and form, creating paintings that flow and move. My style reflects both the water carved landscape of the Rocky Mountains and the malleable liquid paint I am using.
When my work is going well, I am filled with a meditative peace. I am focused and my mind is free to let forms shift and balance themselves. I hear the sounds and am immersed in the memories of the place I am recording. I want to bring people to the places I’ve been and show them the way I see them. I want you, the viewer to experience the awe of a panoramic vista which can only be experienced on a mountain peak. I want you to be moved by the quiet melancholy of dusk at a camp site. This is why I paint and will continue to work as a professional artist. As long as there are inspiring landscapes and experiences to be had in nature, I will be a Canadian landscape painter.
CREDENTIALS:
AWARDS & HONORS:
Western Art Gallery Committee’s Choice, Best in Show, Calgary Stampede, 2013
Best in Show, established painter, Kimberly arts on the edge, Center 64, 2009
Best in Show, Lakehead University Purchas Prize, Lakehead University Annual Juried Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2000
Judge Dianne Pettit Braig Award, Lakehead University Annual Juried Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 2000
Best Sculpture Award, Lakehead University Annual Juried Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, 1999
EDUCATION:
HBFA Lakehead University, Thunder Bay Ontario
SHOWS & EXHIBITIONS:
2021 Fallen Leaf Gallery, Canmore AB
Picture This Gallery, Edmonton AB
Black Star Studio, Invermere BC
The Fernie Arts Co-op, Fernie BC
Allied Arts, Pincher Creek AB
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie BC
Art Match, Calgary
Art On 9th, Invermere
2020 Fallen Leaf Gallery, Canmore AB
Picture This Gallery, Edmonton AB
Black Star Studio, Invermere BC
The Fernie Arts Co-op, Fernie BC
Allied Arts, Pincher Creek AB
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie BC
Art Match, Calgary
Western Showcase, Calgary Stampede
Art On 9th, Calgary and Invermere
2019 Fallen Leaf Gallery, Canmore AB
Picture This Gallery, Edmonton AB
Black Star Studio, Invermere BC
The Fernie Arts Co-op, Fernie BC
Allied Arts, Pincher Creek AB
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie BC
Art Match, Calgary
Art On 9th, Calgary
Western Showcase, Calgary Stampede
MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, SK
2018 Fallen Leaf Gallery, Canmore AB
Picture This Gallery, Edmonton AB
Black Star Studio, Invermere BC
The Fernie Arts Co-op, Fernie BC
Allied Arts, Pincher Creek AB
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie BC
Art Match, Calgary
Art On 9th, Calgary
MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, SK
Western Showcase, Calgary Stampede
2017 Fallen Leaf Gallery, Canmore AB
Picture This Gallery, Edmonton AB
Black Star Studio, Invermere BC
The Fernie Arts Co-op, Fernie BC
Allied Arts, Pincher Creek AB
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie BC
Art Match, Calgary
Art On 9th, Calgary
MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina, SK
Western Showcase, Calgary Stampede
2016 Fallen Leaf Gallery, Canmore AB
Picture This Gallery, Edmonton AB
Black Star Studio, Invermere BC
The Fernie Arts Co-op, Fernie BC
Allied Arts, Pincher Creek AB
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie BC
Western Showcase, Calgary Stampede
2015 Picture This Gallery, Edmonton AB
Black Star Studio, Invermere BC
The Fernie Arts Co-op, Fernie BC
Allied Arts, Pincher Creek AB
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie BC
2014 Western Showcase, Calgary Stampede
Northern Tapestry, Salt Spring Island
Pynlogs Gallery, Invermere
2013 Western Art Gallery, Calgary Stampede
Spring Is In the Air, Cochrane Fieldhouse , AB
Pynlogs Gallery, Invermere BC
Patrick Markle, 17 Mt Klauer St, Fernie BC, V0B 1M3, (250) 423-0981, patrickmarkle.com
2012 Art Gallery of Okotokes, The Divide
The Art Station, Fernie
Pynelogs Gallery, Invermere
Daffodil Gallery, Edmonton
Black Star Gallery, Invermere
2011 Pynlogs Gallery, Invermire
Art Gallery Of Golden
Monk Gallery, Parksville
Black Star Gallery, Invermire
Grey Area Gallery, Chilliwack
2010 Arts On The Edge, Center 64, Kimberly BC
The Fernie Banner Project, the Arts Station, Fernie BC
The Arts Station Fernie
2009 Arts on The Edge, Center 64, Kimberly BC
East Meets West: Key City Gallery, Cranbrook BC
Waterfront Salon: Kitsilano Yacht Club, BC
Grey Are Gallery, Chilliwack BC
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie BC
Powder Cowboys Lodge, Fernie BC
Elk View Lodge, Fernie BC
Red Tree Lodge, Fernie BC
2008 East Kootenay Mens Invitational, Key City Gallery, Cranbrook
Grey Area Gallery, Chilliwack
Fernie Banner Project, The Arts Station, Fernie
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie
Powder Cowboys Lodge, Fernie
2007 The Quiet Lonesome West, Fernie Arts Station, Fernie
Island Lake Lodge, Fernie
Powder Cowboys Lodge, Fernie
2006 In Search Of The Sublime, The Arts Station, Fernie
2002 Lakehead University Annual Juried Exhibition, Thunder Bay Art Gallery, ON
Norwester Impact, Definitely Superior Art Gallery, Thunder Bay ON
PUBLICATIONS:
Avenue Magazine
The Antigonish Review
Fly Fusion Magazine
Kootenay Culture Magazine
Edmonton Sun
Vancouver Sun
Fernie Fix
Kimberly Daily Bulletin
Fernie Cultural Guide
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Canadian landscape artist Patrick Markle is inspired by experiences in the wilderness. His work focuses on the rhythm of nature and capturing fleeting moments of beauty. Markles work remains true to line and form to keep specific locations recognizable and accurate. He then adds his own flowing style to express the grandeur and beauty of the natural world. It’s with this rhythmic style and heightened colours that Markle creates paintings that are very dramatic and powerful.
Markle grew up in the Kawartha Lakes Region of Southern Ontario. Living in cottage country gave Markle an appreciation for the Canadian wilderness at an early age. His love of landscape, lead the artist to the western shores of Lake Superior where he attended Lakehead University. In 2002 Patrick graduated with an Honours Bachelors of Fine Art. Markle then moved to the Rocky Mountain town of Fernie BC where he has been painting ever since. In recent years Markles work has received much attention and is now featured in collections around the world.
