Oak Trees
29 x 25 x 2.5 in (73.7 x 63.5 x 6.4 cm) including frame
Oak Trees (2006) is a vibrant exploration of the forest interior, reflecting Peter McConville’s fascination with the wooded landscapes of Southern Manitoba. The composition is built through a dense, systematic application of color, utilizing a modern pointillist technique where thousands of individual dots of paint coalesce to create a sense of light and depth.
The painting features a central cluster of yellow oak leaves, which appear to glow against a backdrop of slender, dark trunks. These trees are rendered with a rhythmic, undulating quality, their surfaces covered in multicolored points that suggest the texture of lichen and bark. McConville’s palette is dominated by intense oranges, yellows, and deep reds, capturing the height of an autumnal canopy.
This body of work is rooted in the artist’s personal connection to the local landscape; McConville frequently cites his hikes through Winnipeg’s Assiniboine Forest, Little Mountain Park, and the Seine River trails as the primary inspiration for his forest series. By simplifying the natural forms into patterns of light and color, he transforms a familiar prairie woodland into a stylized, decorative field. Oak Trees stands as a definitive example of McConville’s ability to blend traditional landscape observation with a contemporary, labor-intensive approach to acrylic painting.
Peter McConville
1951 - 2020
Peter McConville was born in Banbridge, Northern Ireland in 1951. At fifteen he began his career as an artist in one of Ireland’s textile print companies. The position offered professional art employment as well as the opportunity to study fine art and design. His earlier artworks were displayed in Belfast as part of juried exhibits. Northern Ireland’s history, rich with culture and scarred with conflict, was a common subject in his early work. In later years Peter incorporated his experience with textile design into his artistic process through the method of reducing his environment into stylized, solid shapes in vibrant, saturated colours. He went on to develop a unique method of applying dot patterns throughout the composition, creating surreal, dreamlike images of trees in the Canadian landscape. In his words,
“The fallen leaves and dead woods feed the forest, a reminder of the cycle of life. When I look into the forest, it reveals a wonderful range of deep, rich colours. The bright orange, red and green leaves found in the forest make up a natural, complementary palette.”
Peter McConville
Peter exhibited his works in Toronto, Winnipeg, and Calgary, as well as galleries in Ireland and the United States. His work is housed in many corporate and private collections, including RBC, Great West Life, Bison Transport, Investor’s Group and James Richardson International.
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