Olaf Schneider (b.1964) A husband, father of two and a grandfather of five acquired a strong foundational education in art while working full time at age 21 with Canada’s leading outdoor advertising companies Mediacom. Painting very large scale pictorials with some of the worlds finest artists. His art education has continued with independent and occasional formal studies in pictorial expression and oil painting. The resulting works display his affinity for the classical tradition. More particularly, each piece represents an intense exploration and refinement of his personal pictorial sensitivities; especially as they relate to beauty, form, light and shade, composition, color, and craftsmanship. Olaf is a prolific Canadian painter inspired by the power and diversity of the northern landscape. An explorer by nature, the artist travels across North America, gaining inspiration and discovering new color combinations by painting outdoors on location. His large-scale canvases are necessarily created in the studio.
Olaf uses color, light, and brushwork to achieve visual harmony. He captures the movement of water, as well as the freshness and clarity of sunlight, which seems to glisten on his surfaces. In describing himself as well as other artists of “representational art,” he writes: “Each dab is stimulated by the details that I observe; we see what others miss and then make it compelling. We proudly push and alter the colours to suit our ravenous needs. We improvise right on the spot.”
The artist has a passion for a variety of subjects -- from portraits, landscapes, still life paintings of marbles and glass. Through his art, he expresses his love for life and affinity for vibrant colour. Olaf explains: “I paint an image and convey an emotional context that is accessible to the viewer. I like to use expressive and thick impastoed brushstrokes or soft, blended strokes to render a sense of movement and texture, giving the painting a life of its own.
My interpretation of color also sets the dynamic mood. The tones often range from the darkest to the lightest in an effort to achieve maximum drama. This creative combination of ‘information’ is spontaneous and intuitive.”
Schooled at the Ontario College of Art, Sheridan College, Olaf resides in the Toronto area. His paintings are widely exhibited in Toronto, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and throughout North America, as well as in Germany, the Netherlands, and Italy. He has been heralded with top honors in International Artist Magazine. Member of the Portrait Society of of America, Oil painters of America, Portrait Society of Canada and an Elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists, Salmangundi Club New York City and the Arts and Letters Club in Toronto.
