To view image click on "Access Content Now" above This painting is from a series on houses that Harry Stooshinoff created after moving to the industrial city of Oshawa in 1983. Brought to life through quickly layered, energetic brushstrokes, this symmetrical composition features a modest house with a gabled dormer window. To make the series, Stooshinoff would take photos each day and paint at night. Over his career, Stooshioff moved from pictorial narrative and cityscapes to painting landscape, but the idea of “home” remains at the heart of all his works. As he explains, “the security of ‘home’ has been the greatest value, and it’s ‘home’ that I paint today and every day.” Today, Stooshinoff lives in rural Ontario. Daily walks and daily painting are still key to his art practice. “…as I walk all sorts of arrangements present themselves. Usually, a strong painting motif will have 3-5 things in relationship, and I’ll note those. The painting will be made within a few hours of returning home. The motifs that I notice most often seem to carry some sort of strong emotional load; they seem important to me for some strange reason that goes further than pure design.” Harry Stooshinoff (1956- ) was born on a farm near Kamsack, Saskatchewan. He taught himself about art by studying books on painters. He was inspired by Utrillo, Cezanne, and Matisse. His formal education began in the late 1970s at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. Diving into long studio sessions, Stooshinoff would paint with acrylic on paper, developing a loose, painterly style with an emphasis on mark making. Working “alla prima” [an Italian phrase meaning 'at first attempt'], he would finish paintings in a day. At this time Stooshinoff also attended the Emma Lake workshop (1977) learning from the painter, Mina Forsythe, and the abstract sculptor Anthony Caro. Graduating with a BFA from the University of Saskatchewan (1979), Stooshinoff studied with landscape painter Takeo Tanabe at The Banff Centre (1979-1980), before earning his MFA at University of Calgary (1982). Moving to Ontario, he attended the University of Toronto, graduating with a BEd (1989). Stooshinoff taught art at Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario until his retirement in 2015. His artwork is held in private and public collections, including the University of Saskatchewan, and Canada Council Art Bank
