Canadian Artist Puts Nature On Canvas
Article Courtesy of the May 17th, 2000 issue of the Lloydminster Meridian-Booster

Saskatchewan artist Glen Scrimshaw has finally struck a balance between his love of nature and passion for art.

Scrimshaw met admirers and art-lovers at Twilight Framing and Gallery in Lloydminster May 13.

His paintings of nature and wildlife scenes are bought by people the world over, yet its only now, after years of hard work, that he feels he is able to really spend time in the kind of places he brings to life on the canvas.

"Two years ago I was busy painting – success comes and its busy, busy, busy," Scrimshaw said. "All of as sudden I kind of woke up and said ‘Oh man, I spend 300 days a year painting – I'm in my house and the way my house is, I can't see outside."

A painter needs north light, with no shadows or light changes to see the drawing board properly.

But Scrimshaw recently bought a quarter section near Duck Lake, Sask., where he has been building a yard site.

"It's close to a highway but totally isolated – it's my own little sanctuary, so I'm going to have nature right on my doorstep." Scrimshaw said. "The water is really close – I've got geese nesting right there, and beaver – actually, a beaver chewed part of my dock the other night."

Scrimshaw, born in Big River, Sask., was instilled with a reverence for the serene beauty of the north at an early age. At 12, he first started oil painting and has continued since then.

In his early 20s, he moved even further north to a place called Co-op Point on Reindeer Lake, Sask., where he managed a Co-op store for several years. The store wasn't open that many hours during the day in the winter, so Scrimshaw started painting more and more.

"I went through trying to do portraits and things when I was younger, but I've always been drawn to sunsets, sunrises - I really enjoy doing them, and animals," he said, "I did that for about 10 years, manage and painting as a hobby."

"In 1985, I started displaying some of (the paintings) in the store I was working in and people started buying them faster than I could paint them. It was $100 for a big painting back then. Pretty soon I had orders that people wanted me to paint."

A buyer would commission Scrimshaw to paint, for example, a portrait of their dog, set against a northern backdrop.
Then in 1990, he set up his first art gallery in La Ronge. Word started to spread, as Scrimshaw started showing his work in Saskatchewan galleries and selling it to retail stores.

During this period, Scrimshaw was also busy for other reasons.

"I raised three daughters on my own as a single dad – changing diapers and painting with the other hand," he laughed. "I worked really hard and long hours. It just didn't happen, I worked very, very hard."

"I don't know if I was confident – maybe stubborn."

Scrimshaw said he has taken thousands of photographs while exploring the forests and lakes he is so fond, of using these as the inspiration for his paintings. Many of his paintings feature some kind of action, set against a breathtaking view.

"Lately I've had a lot of lightning or northern lights, things in nature that I'm very fascinated in watching myself," he said.

Today, through the Internet, Scrimshaw's work is in demand from people in countries throughout the world.

"It always surprises me actually, where we get orders from - as well as in Canada," he said.

One of the most satisfying things about the level of success he has reached is being able to spend time contemplating nature at his retreat near Duck Lake. He currently has a camper there but plans to soon move in full time.

"I'm getting to know every inch of it. I love to be outside but I had locked myself away with my job," he said.

"Now I'm getting that balance back and once I live out there, it will be the other way – nature will be on the other side of the glass."

Scrimshaw anticipates being able to simply observe nature from his doorstep any time he wants to, gaining deeper insight into the subject of his artwork.

"The other day I was watching some little ducks, three males and one female. All three of those males were after that one female," he recalled.

"The things these little ducks were doing, trying to impress the female, trying to win her – it was like going to a bar and watching three young guys all after the same pretty girl.

"There's so many similarities to people in nature – well, we are animals," It humbles you a little bit when you realize how similar you are to, well, probably every species in the world if you can sit and study it."

Scrimshaw said he could hardly wait until the day he can finally move on to the quarter section.

"I've got all girls, so maybe one day I'll have a bunch of grandchildren – I could teach them all about nature right there at my doorstep," he mused. "Things have come a long way when I first started doing this."