Greetings,

My name is Steve Huculiak, a career artist and design consultant with 47 years of broad experience in drawing, designing, planning and fine art painting.
I am writing to express my sincere interest in the opportunity to submit my artwork for the Ontario Society of Artists 150th Annual Open Juried Exhibition.

As a design consultant, I have had the privilege of working as an artist, building designer, Illustrator, and urban planner, contributing to major architectural and urban design projects over the course of my career and across the country.

I am genuinely enthusiastic about the prospect of contributing artwork to this exciting upcoming show.

The proposal included in this application are sketch studies of the final work, yet to completed. I am confident in my ability to meet the expectations outlined and create the final work worthy of the high quality needed for a public exhibition. May 15 completion. This work is premised on the idea that quick work and fast response art making will satisfy both the timeline to finish and successful spontaneous line and print/paint work ensuring a dynamic feel and clear evidence of the artists process.

Currently in my studio I am sourcing materials and sketching various ideas to make this series on Okanagan Fires and the work submitted here; Carbon Pair.
I appreciate the understanding that this work is so new it barely exists.

Please see; https://www.huculiak.ca/life-drawing for an understanding of my free hand drawing style and concept strength to execute finished art and design.

It is my intention that the attached rough study samples of the anticipated final work art, along with references to my website, will describe well enough the example of the final artwork.

Thank you for considering my proposal. I am available at your earliest convenience for any discussions or clarifications.

Warm regards,
Steve Huculiak

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Carbon Pair is a set of two mixed media artworks on paper and form part of the artists’ current project series Okanagan Fires.

The Okanagan is known for its natural beauty and is infamously known for its wildfires.

Monochromatic with subtle colouration through a transparent layering of carbon, acrylic paint, graphite, and black printing ink deftly applied as bold simple images describing this beautiful and artful use of carbon from burnt trees restating the long held value of trees, in this case, repurposed.

Carbon Pair each 48”x 64” one is a faded imprint of a nest of branches circling a lone Tree segment of deep black ink showing the grain of the wood, the other a bold Nest intersected with a faded image of the (other's) Tree (both works will share ink printing ghosted/imprinted to the other).
Fine graphite/pencil lines aid the viewers’ gaze describing finer aspects of the works design and the hand of the artist.

Mixes of actual carbon from trees on site in Kelowna layer and create gradients and a cloudy surround.
Colour is used to pull the sentiment creating a more nuanced story.

The two companion works - Tree and Nest can be interpreted as digital ones and zeros or quantum spin and the relationship entangled particles share - spin up and spin down - when collapsed.
or Male Female
or On Off
or Home Away - Giving Receiving.

This artist also likes the notions of nests for dwelling and trees for life strength, and with all of their societal iterations.

All works in the artists’ series Okanagan Fires postulate the dignity of trees gained during their lifetime and now in this art 'afterlife' using Carbon on Paper.