nik harron » astronomy

Swell.

artnik — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 04:54:10 +0000

Painted for the The Brush Off at THE MUSEUM.

Painted in the final round— the SPEAK round where each of the three finalists interpreted the word “swell”

“Swell”
18×18 in
Acrylic on canvas
2012

Photograph by Joe Martz

This painting is in the private collection of Carol Moogk-Soulis.

On Earth, as it is…

artnik — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 20:29:23 +0000

Reflecting the direct physical connection between our world and the sky in which it spins, the pattern on Earth is the same as it is in the heavens.

“On Earth, as it is…”
Acrylic on panel
24×48 in
2012

This painting is available for purchase.

Cold sky turning over the warm Earth

artnik — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:25:00 +0000

As the warm Earth turns the cold sky above appears to spin around the north star.

12x12in
Acrylic on canvas
2011

This painting is available for purchase $150 unframed, $200 framed.

Fixed point

artnik — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:18:40 +0000

Above a stubborn outcrop of rugged rock, the stars serenely continue their parade around the fixed point.

“Fixed point”
Acrylic on panel
12 in x 12 in
2011

This painting is available for purchase $150 unframed, $200 framed

Our Earth is not a cold, dead place

artnik — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 17:42:25 +0000

An exploration of our shared cosmological sense of place— the fixed point of the cold, north star anchors the motion of our continued journey as our life continues below.

“Our Earth is not a cold, dead place”
Acrylic on panel
24 in x 48 in
2011

This painting is available for purchase.

Light falling in the valley

artnik — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:21:33 +0000

This is the second painting in the Northern Cosmology series, which picks up themes from my earlier “Particles & waves” painting. The first in the series is “Still, it moves.”

18x24in
acrylic on panel
2011

This painting was auctioned as part of the Fire & Ice Gala on behalf of Leadership Waterloo.

Still, it moves.

artnik — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 16:02:58 +0000

This northern abstract is an homage to Galileo. Although considered apocryphal, Galileo is rumoured to have muttered “E pur si muove!” (And still, it moves!) before the ecclesiastical court that forced him to recant his heliocentric view of the universe and placed him into house arrest. This view is informed by our modern understanding of our place in the grand scheme of things, and faces north to the fixed pole as the sky appears to rotate around us.

12x16in
acrylic on panel
2011

This painting was auctioned as part of the Fire & Ice Gala on behalf of Leadership Waterloo.

Northern lights

artnik — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 22:24:03 +0000

While not a literal representation of the aurora borealis, the colour and sense of light in this painting is evocative of the surreality of the northern lights.

36×36in
acrylic on canvas
2010

This painting is in the private collection of Gordon & Deborah Robson.

Meanwhile…

artnik — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:12:11 +0000

Outside of my normal style, this painting was created to celebrate the birthday of my close friend Chris McInnis, curator of Über Cool Stuff, a Geek Boutique located in London, Ontario. Considering what a colossal comic geek Chris is, I wanted to create something special to mark his birthday, and as we’re both fans of Jim Kirby’s classic character Galactus, it was a foregone conclusion that he’d be the inspiration.

The illustration is heavily influenced by Jim Lee’s interpretation of the character, and depicts a sullen Galactus— Devourer of Worlds— peering over the rim of a new world, contemplating what is about to happen.

Happy birthday Chris!

“Meanwhile…”
36x36in
Acrylic on panel
2011

This piece is in the private collection of Chris McInnis.

Eclipse.

artnik — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 00:00:34 +0000

untitled (detail), 2009

A bit of a departure from terrestrial themes, this painting saw further experimentation with using water to sculpt the original sculptural layer.

The lunar element was crafted a a separate piece that was bonded to the canvas, rather than being sculpted in place. The imagery should be familiar to anyone who has experienced a solar eclipse or seen photography of the moments around “totality”.

The surface has been abraded significantly to selectively remove the glazing and establish the network of fine details that reinforce the highly dynamic and energetic nature of our companion star.

untitled

2009
acrylic on canvas
36x36in

This painting is in the private collection of Anthony Harron.