kevindouglasloftus.ca
“I often contemplate the vast scope of philosophical thought, the boundless wonder of scientific discovery, and the profound power of art and language. When I contrast these thoughts and ideas to the teachings of any religion, I can think of only one word to describe the bible’s limitless supreme being and His creation of the limitless universe: limited.”
Kevin Douglas Loftus was born in Moncton, New Brunswick and lived a good portion of his childhood in an adjacent small town until his family moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1987. Kevin continues to live and work in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Kevin was artistic from a young age, making numerous drawings of his favourite Saturday morning cartoon characters and his favourite sci-fi movie villians and heroes as well as building scale models and designing and building scale architectural environments (vehicles, rooms, and furniture) for his GI Joe figures. Except for three years of art class in high school, Kevin is an entirely self-taught artist. His first taste of art as a possible career option came during his high school years when he displayed and sold works at several local science fiction fan conventions.
At university Kevin majored in Philosophy, a subject he felt drawn to and a subject which still makes up half of his reading list and is still considered by him to be one of the greatest influences on his art. Philosophy helped open up his world and changed his perspectives about many previously held views on religion, morality, ethics and politics.
In his paintings, Kevin has always been drawn to bold colours, strong light and shadow contrasts, and a strong sense of contour and form. He often paints bodies or objects on an abstract or solid coloured background in a Pop Art style. Kevin paints in acrylic for its ease of use, ease of clean up and other environmentally friendly qualities. Kevin is inspired more often by writers and musicians than by other visual artists and tries often to paint from that inspiration – using the quintessential passion of the song lyricist or composer and the critical thought process of the ideal philosopher or scientist. His strong views on religion and politics among other social issues continue to push him in new directions as well as his love/hate relationship with popular culture. He also seeks inspiration in the people he meets everyday in his city or during his extensive travel experiences with people from other cultures and vastly different backgrounds.
Being a self-taught and self-represented artist gives Kevin the freedom to express his passions in an organically developing way. He desires to make painting and other creative outlets a full-time endeavour.
My work takes a satirical and sometimes serious view of religion, politics and other contemporary issues and puts them to canvas in a pop art style. I put my views and opinions about modern societal concerns out to the world to be dissected and discussed. My work is not intended to offend but rather to open people up to looking critically at their personal beliefs and challenge them to ask themselves why they hold strong to them. If archaic iconographies and ideologies won’t fade away then I intend to force them into relevance in the present and merge them with pop culture.
My paintings are mostly influenced by my lifelong study of philosophy and science and by my long-held criticism of certain institutions and issues including organized religion and the negative side affects of blind faith, the continued push of creationist theories in the face of the scientific proofs of evolution, and the relentless grip of capitalism and political power. As well, my work tackles issues such as injustice, inequality, gender roles, modern social interactions, and the continued destruction of our fragile planets environment. To balance out these serious subject matters, I also paint male nudes in celebration of the beauty of the human body. I work mostly in acrylic on canvas painting lively characters on brightly coloured solid or abstract backgrounds.
Kevin offers original paintings in various sizes for large or small spaces and at a range of prices to fit a range of budgets. Giclee prints of some of his most popular works are available for a nominal price and are a great option for gifts or collecting multiple affordable pieces of artwork.
^ THE ARTIST IN HIS STUDIO
A brief look at THE PROCESS of making art…
Draw
The image is scaled up to the desired proportions on the canvas using a grid and simple math…
Define
Next, all shadows and highlights are roughed in and final colour choice is approximated…
Detail
Layer upon layer; edges and shadow/highlight areas are refined over and over until…
Done!
The finished painting. When you think you can’t improve any single element, time to call it a day 🙂
- Web content and all images, photos, and paintings are copyright          Kevin Douglas Loftus – Visual Artist. Copyright 2016