Dan Ostler’s artistic journey started in the least likely of places.
The former military medical biochemist was wandering the aisles of a hardware store when he happened across a small set of kids’ watercolour paints for $1.39.
Ostler never had any interest in art, but he thought he’d give it a try.
“I though ‘I’m just going to pick this up and take it home and go play with it.’ From there it just developed very quickly.
His first painting was a landscape of Rosewall Creek. Within a few weeks, somebody had offered to buy one of his paintings.
That was 13 years ago.
Ostler moved to Ladysmith in 2001 and says he enjoys painting scenes from around Vancouver Island.
Ostler is currently painting a view of Genoa Bay.
Ostler turned in his water colours for the more forgiving acrylic paints around two to three years ago.
“I felt I had gone as far as I could go with it,” said Ostler on his decision to switch styles, though he still does the odd watercolour.
When painting watercolour, it can be difficult lifting or covering any colours once on the canvas. Plus, anything you want to be white has to be left untouched from the beginning.
“You can get about 90 per cent of the way into a watercolour and completely wreck it. Then it’s just garbage.”
In acrylic painting, Ostler said it is easier to paint it white and start over if he wants to change anything.
For Ostler, one of the greatest joys of being an artist is seeing the joy nice art brings to people.
“Often people go by something I was a little bit of a flop and they simply love it.”
Though, ironically, one of his favourites, a couple dancing, has not received many bites.
Ostler has his own website, www.danostler.ca and says he has been shying away from gallery showings. While there are still great Ladysmith galleries, like Bayview, to show work, many galleries Ostler has been in take way too high a commission.
This, Ostler feels, drives up the price and makes art less affordable for people.
Ostler will be taking his work to First Avenue for Arts on the Avenue coming up on August 28.
Provided the weather is good, Ostler said the event is a great chance for local artists to show off their work.
“It’s one of the better art shows on the Island. It is a very good thing for Ladysmith, it brings a lot of people in from other communities.”
