We were lucky to catch up with Fraser Radford recently and have shared our conversation below.

Fraser, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

When I was in elementary school, I was always fascinated with different creative pursuits, whether it was watching programs like ‘America’s Castles’ on A&E, shows on fashion, art, and architecture or having fun in art class. While this wasn’t the tipping point for wanting to pursue a career in the creative field, it was certainly a good starting point. However, between the second and third years of university, I decided to pick up painting again as a way to take a break from constantly writing essays (I was pursuing a degree in Art History with a minor in Religious Studies) and it sort of stuck!

Fraser, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

First off, hello dear readers. I hope you are doing well. My name is Fraser Radford and I am a visual artist and art historian, currently living in the small city of Brockville, Ontario, Canada. I graduated from Queen’s University in Kingston, Ontario with an Honours BA in Art History with a minor in Religious Studies. I also have a diploma from St. Lawrence College in Visual and Creative Arts – Fine Arts, as well as a post-graduate certificate from the Haliburton School of Art and Design in Studio Process Advancement. While studying at St. Lawrence College, I apprenticed under Shayne Dark, one of Canada’s foremost living sculptors.

As I made reference to earlier, the moment when I realised that I wanted to pursue art as a full time career/obsession was during the summer of 2007 when I was in between the second and third years at Queen’s. Picking up painting again was a way for me to break the monotony of writing essays and exercise another part of my brain. Since then, my work has been exhibited throughout North America, including at the Japanese Embassy in Ottawa, Ontario (twice!), as well as published in magazines based in North America. I consider myself to be extremely lucky as I have been able to meet some of the artists who have influenced my own work.

My primary focus is painting, which is heavily influenced by artists associated with the Abstract Expressionist, Colour Field/Post-Painterly Abstraction movements like Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell, Jack Bush, Milly Ristvedt, Jules Olitski, Sam Gilliam, Friedel Dzubas, Frank Bowling, Emily Mason, along with landscape artists like Wolf Kahn and Richard Mayhew. Another influence are the photographs taken by the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes. The subject matter for my work is colour and light.

In regard to clients, I am always willing to work with them on a new commission. However, if the client sees an older work that they like, that is alright too. If they have a strict budget, we can work something out so there is less stress on all parties involved. Investing in artwork can be an intimidating experience but artists are always willing to work with their clients so everything goes off without a hitch.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect about being an artist is when someone sees your work, understands it, and you can have a thought provoking discussion about it without any harsh judgements or criticisms. This could potentially lead to a client purchasing a work or a gallerist showing interest in displaying your work and signing you with their gallery.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

A few goals come to mind that are driving this creative journey:
1.) To be able to build an off-the-grid tiny home and large studio from natural materials like straw bales, cob, rammed earth, adobe, etc.
2.) Make a comfortable living from my artwork.
3.) Set up a foundation that will provide scholarships to students pursuing a fine arts diploma or degree. Good quality artist materials can get ridiculously expensive so being able to assist students with alleviating that financial stress would be incredible.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fraserradford.com
• Instagram: fraserradford

Image Credits

The headshot is credited to Bernard Clark.