FLY is happy to advise that long-time friend, PHILIP CAIRNS (actor, writer, artist, poet….) is presenting a special solo show, Sunsets, of his iPhone photography of…yes, sunsets in Toronto. Hosted at Show Gallery, 978 Queen West, east of Ossington, the show runs now thru this Sunday, 1 to 6 pm. Also open late tonight (Friday) and Saturday 7 to 9 pm. The beautiful photos make perfect gifts as well as additions to your own art collection, and all are very affordable.
FLY got a chance to ask Philip (pictured below) a few questions about his show…..
Congratulations on your solo show- what inspired you to present an exhibition of your photography? I started taking photos with my IPhone about 7 years ago. I go down to Lake Ontario quite a bit, on the boardwalk west of Ontario Place. The sunsets, there, are fantastic. I began posting them on Facebook and Instagram. People really loved them and encouraged me to have a show of my work and put out a coffee table book. I helped Helen Posno hang her solo show at Show Gallery earlier this year and met the curator, Lev. He offered me a show. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to show my photos. I have taken so many pics of sunsets, by the lake and from my living room window, so I’ve mostly concentrated on this show of sunsets and sunrises. I can see the sunrise from my kitchen window, although the recent building of 2 condos has obscured the sunrise, a little bit.
What do you find so attractive and inspiring about sunsets? I’m very much a night person so sunset means the beginning of the night. Also, they are very beautiful. Some of the sunsets by the lake are spectacular. To me, the night is the time of creativity, when it is quiet. Sunsets are the beginning of magic time. All the noise and rushing around of the day has ended and I can go into “the zone” to create. I paint, draw and write, mostly at night. Sunrise means the beginning of construction noise, traffic, phones ringing, emails to answer, tasks to do, errands to run etc. But, many times, sunrise is the end of my day. That’s when I go to bed. So sunsets are beginnings rather than an ending.
You also paint and sketch using multiple media and styles- do you prefer the “instamatic” sense of photography or do you like working on a particular picture over days, weeks, months? The iPhone camera makes things look even better than they are in real life. I do like the fact that a photo takes a few seconds: look, point the camera, make sure the horizon line is not crooked them click. Instant beauty. Sometimes, I’ll work on a small drawing for years. I may put 4 on the easel and work on them for 4 years. 15 minutes, here, 2 hours there. The colours become very rich. I don’t really sketch. I only draw using coloured pencils. Sometimes coloured chalk and oil pastels.
Do you intend to continue taking photos for future shows? Yes, definitely. I deliberately kept the photos small for this show so they would be affordable. I don’t take as many photos as I used to, mostly because of iPhone storage issues. But the results are often so beautiful when I do take photos that I certainly will continue to take photos. I also like to take night shots of the city. They look very eerie and intriguing. For the past 6 months, I’ve been consumed with a short film I wrote and directed. There were a lot of issues getting it done, some postponements, then I got Covid and was barely healthy enough when the shoot actually happened. So I haven’t been taking a lot of photos or painting or drawing. Right now, it’s in the editing stage. I can’t wait to have it finished. I have some great footage with a dream cast. But I think about the film, often, about what takes to use, how to cut it etc. And it’s only a little over 20 minutes long.
So you only have a few more days to check out Philip’s beautiful photos – drop by SHOW GALLERY located at 978 Queen St. West in downtown Toronto. And you can follow Philip on Fcbk at: https://www.facebook.com/philip.cairns.16